War of the Guardians
by The Holocron
Summary: Crowley, showing an interest in the Guardians, attempts to lure Pitch into working with him. Pitch refuses, and instead attempts to unite the fallen Legends to drive out the Guardians and prove to the Moon that he can control the world without them. Meanwhile, Garth calls Sam and Dean for help after being frozen by a vengeful spirit (gee I wonder who that could be.)
1. Chapter 1

War of the Guardians

Part one – Fallen Legends

Chapter 1

Pitch Black sat in the corner of his layer, idly swishing his black sand with a grey finger tip. _"What's the point of going out to make nightmares when Jack and Sandman are still gallivanting around?"_ His teeth gritted with the thought. "Going around with that _stupid boy_!" He yelled, looking up the dark shaft that led to his home. "He _saw_ me! He _believed_ in me! But the moment he didn't _fear_ me I was invisible to him! That's not how it's supposed to work old friend!" He was yelling at the moon of course. Deep down, he knew the Man on the Moon knew what he was doing, and that he was the one missing something, but he grimaced at the thought of admitting it.

"Expecting somebody to answer?" came a slightly gravelly voice. The Boogyman turned around, just in time to see Crowley stepping out of the shadows. His eyes furrowed and his lip curled. He didn't know who this was, but he knew what it was. Crowley rolled his neck, "The names Crowley, King of Hell, and do I have the honor of addressing Mr. Bitch Black?"

"Pitch," he corrected, his mood not improving.

"Oh yes silly me, Pitch of course, nice to meet you." Cowley said, his voice anything but sincere.

"What do you want?" Pitch asked irritably, looking bored.

"That's not really a welcoming attitude," Cowley said passively, "I thought you would like the company of a fellow man of fear?"

Pitch snorted rudely, "You? A man of fear? Don't make me laugh. Now, I don't like it when unexpected people come down here so what do you want?" he snarled that last part, his tall figure looming over Crowley's shorter one.

Crowley wiped the edges of his mouth with one palm and drew a contract. "I was just wondering if you would be at all interested in offing a couple of obnoxious Guardians."

Pitch was slightly taken aback, and leaned away. "Guardians? As in palace guards? Military men?"

"No!" Crowley said, a little angry now at Pitch's seemingly naïve answer. "Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny! Those guys!"

There was silence, and then Pitch snorted again, this time with laughter. He held his side with one arm and shook his head as his throat vibrated with the chuckle. "The King of Hell is having an issue with the Easter Bunny? What's the problem? Is God coming out of another tomb because of him?"

Crowley lowered the contract, his eyes stern. "Because they have power! Control over the elements, superior strength, Immortal, armed to the teeth, supernatural. Oh and they have good morals. Letting them hang around is just asking for a whole lot of trouble. Hell has a serious potential problem." He shrugged casually, his anger cooling. "And I figured…since you already hate them, you might want to kill them."

Pitch's tongue prodded at the small gap where a tooth had once occupied. He looked up at the King of Hell, his eyes becoming dull. "No," he said in a quiet snooty tone.

Crowley raised his eyebrows. "No? What is it? Do you suddenly get warm fuzzy feelings about how they knocked a tooth out of your head, or locked you away in this dump?"

"The reason is Mr. Crowley is that you kill and torture people to make them afraid of you."

Now Cowley was really curious. "Beg your pardon?"

"It's cheap," Pitch sneered. "I'll show you fear Mr. Crowley, and I'll do without using those embarrassing techniques you like to call strategy." His sulfurous eyes narrowed. "I'll show everybody."

"Well aren't you a pompous little bastard," Crowley mused, stuffing the contract away. "Have it your way then. I came to you for some extra muscle anyway; don't go thinking I am dependent on you."

"Then how do you expect to stop the Guardians? Demons? Please, Sandman could trash a dozen of them without even blinking." Pitch called.

Crowley spared one last glance back at the defeated boogie man. "Three names Bitch, Bloody Mary, Hook Man, and Winchester.

Thousands of feet in the air, Jack Frost stood on the nose of a commercial airliner, feeling the wind blow his hair straight back. After starring over the horizon for a minute, he inhaled deeply, spread his arms, and let his bare feet lift upwards. He shot backwards like a bullet, sliding up the tail end of the plan. He wavered in the air for a second, and then let out a long excited yell as he tipped upside down, nose diving out of the sky. He was like a missile shooting for earth, his eyes watering slightly as the wind beat against them. He plummeted towards a snow covered mountainside, curling up into a cannonball around his staff. He hit the base of it, sinking into two stories of snow. A blast went off around him and powdery snow exploded into the sky like a nuclear blast. Wind instantly picked it up, and carried it across the country. Jack crawled out of the hole that he had made, dusting himself off, grinning. "There go you kids," he breathed. "There's a snow day coming for ya real soon." Jack flew over the cities and states, dropping down every once in a while to instigate a snow ball fight, or to draw intricate frost patters on a window. He eventually landed on the rim of Jamie's front yard fence. He looked up at the sky. "That down fall will be here by tomorrow," he plopped himself down. "It'll be good to play with them again." Jamie and his friends were the only ones that really saw Jack clearly; a sign off undoubting belief in him, and it would be so fun to be able to have a snow ball fight with kids that would actually thank him at the end of the day.

"_Garth is the man you're looking for."_

The voice was soft spoken, and carried in the air. Jack looked around, a frown forming on his face. "Who's there?" he called, not as loudly as he normally would have.

_"The man you're looking for is Garth Fitzgerald IV, the hunter."_

Jack continued to look around him, his staff poised. And then a single, blue and green colored feather floated down in front of him, landing in the snow at his feet. The frost spirit stared at it in confusion for a moment, and then he gasped, looking up. "Wait..." he breathed. Then his eyes blazed with anger and he flew up into the sky.

Watching him from hell, Crowley leaned back in his seat. "Oh yeah," he breathed. "I love messing with rookies."

At his home, Garth whistled a merry tune as he mixed up a cup of hot chocolate. He was wearing a red and green woolen sweater, and was turning up the radio to hear the Christmas carols. It was just after thanksgiving, and Garth was one of those early Christmas celebrators. He bobbed his head to the music, humming along, and bringing his cup up to his lips. But nothing came out. He tipped the cup further, but still nothing came. Confused, he pulled the cup away and looked into it. The hot coca was frozen solid in the mug. Slowly the situation registered with Garth and he dropped the mug, grabbing his gun and a cup of salt. He saw frost forming on his window and quickly put a circle around himself. It slowly spelled out J-A-C-K. Garth squinted, his lips silently reading. He blinked. "Jack Frost?" he said.

"Yep," Jack said, appearing behind him, looking furious. Garth turned around to shoot but Jack froze the gun, and the hand that was holding it to the floor with an ice pillar. He stepped over the salt, and punched the hunter right across the face. Garth staggered back, drawing a knife with his other hand and chopped away the section of ice holding his hand to the floor. He turned quickly to face Jack, but the spirit was now standing meters away from him. His eyes grew cold, and he twirled his staff once, and sent a wave of ice into the hunter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dean's cell phone rang and he slapped the desk beside his bed, clumsily turning it on. "What?" he grumbled, rubbing his face.

"_Dean it's Garth," _said a shaky voice. _"L-look, I need your help, I was attacked last light." _The man on the other line shuddered, his teeth chattering. _"Can you come help me?"_

Dean was already out of bed and getting his gear. "We'll be right there buddy, where are you?"

"_My house, I'm sending over the address."_

Dean jogged over to Sam, who was getting himself up from the couch. "Rise and shine," Dean called, slapping his shoulder. "Garth is in trouble and we're taking a road trip."

The impala was fired up, and the two brothers hit the asphalt. "So did he say what got him?" Sam asked.

"No clue, but his teeth were chattering like he just came out of a blizzard."

"So he's in shock?" Sam said.

"Sounds like it, whatever got him, it must have been really ugly," Dean said, taking a right.

Flying over head, Jack Frost stopped in mid jump, faltering and landing hard on a snow bank. His head came up, a thick cap of snow resting on his head. "Ugly!?" he exclaimed, and then he grinned. "Well we'll just see about that."

The ride was going well, until some perfectly smooth ice formed over the black top. Before Dean could do anything the Impala had done a perfect 360 turn. Both he and Sam let out a surprised yell before the car straightened herself out, and continued driving as if nothing had happened. The Winchesters, heads pressed back into the seats, stole a glance at each other, their eyes wide. "Black ice," Dean said, swallowing once and nodding.

"Yeah," Sam breathed. They sat in silence. Sam inhaled deeply and then glanced over at Dean. "It must have been a really wide, sooth patch to let the car spin like that without any strain."

Dean rubbed his nose. "Yeah," he murmured, and then dropped the subject.

Jack chuckled to himself as they drove on, sighing. Behind him, one of Bunnymunds rabbit holes opened up and the egg painter himself hopped out. "Jack, North wants to talk with you." He said, pointing a furry finger at him.

"I can't really do that," Jack said. "I'm doing my job."

"He knows you're doing your job, it's this 'extracurricular' stuff he has a problem with."

"Woops! You hear that?" Jack said. "That's the wind telling me I have to go. So long Bunny!" With that he was lifted into the air.

"Hey hold it!" Bunny called after him. "You can't just fly away from your problems!"

"But I can!" Jack called back. "And it's totally awesome!"

Dean and Sam arrived at Garth's home a few hours later, cautiously approaching the house, guns at the ready. Dean opened his phone. "Garth?" he said carefully. "We're here."

"Oh good," Garth breathed from another room. "But be careful it's a trap!"

"What? Really?" Dean asked.

"No," Garth half laughed. "But if it was you would have heard me dying on the other end."

Dean shrugged. "You make a good point."

They stepped into the house, finding the young man frozen to his wall. Sam raised his eyebrows. "Well you look in better shape that I though you would."

"Thanks," Garth said, managing a smile, his body shivering. The two Winchesters each grabbed an arm and ripped Garth off the wall, leaving the back of his shirt and pants behind. A bathrobe and a cup of hot chocolate later, Garth was seated in his arm chair, telling the brothers his tale. "I was putting up the last of the Christmas decorations. I had gotten myself some hot chocolate and…"

"Hold on a sec," Dean said looking around. "You mean your whole house is decked up with the bells of holly?"

"Well yeah," Garth said.

"It's still November,"

"Dean," said Sam, and turned back the Garth. "Go on."

"To make a long story short," Garth explained. "My coca froze, and then Jack Frost punched me in the face and iced me to the wall." He licked his numb lips. "And then he took the time to freeze my teeth together."

Sam opened his mouth, pausing, and then carefully proceeded. "Your teeth?"

"Jack Frost?" said Dean. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Garth sighed. "He said something along the lines of me being a trigger happy lunatic."

"Ok then," Dean said. "Let's do some research,"

Sam rubbed the back of his head. "I can't help but wonder, why is Jack Frost attacking you, and why didn't he kill you?"

"And if it's actually Jack Frost," Dean called over his shoulder.

"Not a clue," Garth said. "It was funny though, he looked like a seventeen year old kid with white hair."

"Not exactly terrifying," Dean murmured, opening Garth's computer.

They researched, looking into folklore, ancient tales. But there wasn't much to be said as to how to kill Old Man Winter. "I don't know man," Sam sighed as he and Dean walked out of the house with Garth. "I can't figure anything."

"This means we need to find a way to tie him down to figure out what kills him the hard way." Dean said right as Garth slipped on some ice, landing on his rear.

"Ow!" Garth moaned, rubbing his hip as he stood up.

Sam frowned. "There wasn't any ice on those steps when we walked down them.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, interrupting his thought. He pointed to the Impala. It was covered from front to end with artistic frost patters. "Freaking Jack Frost what have done to Baby?!" Dean called, running over to his car and checking to damages.

"Dean its just frost, it's not gonna hurt her," Sam said, walking over to him.

Dean straightened, inhaling. "Right, right, ok here's the deal. We stick with Garth in his house. Garth, you trash talk Jack, and then we see what works and what doesn't."

"Well at least we have a plan that can't go wrong," Sam sighed.

Cheery Christmas music played as they waited for Jack to show up. Garth started whipping up some cookie batter, while Sam and Dean sat at the table, guns loaded. Every once in a while Garth would start 'trash talking' Jack Frost. But he was so terrible at being mean that the insults fell sadly flat. This wasn't really a problem; Dean and Sam were secretly hoping they could get a hold of some of the cookies before the fight anyway. Garth sighed, pulling a tray out of the oven. "These should be done…" he faltered. "They're…still cold."

Dean and Sam stood, cocking the sawed off shotguns. "I should have figured guys like you would just bring a bunch of guns," they heard, as Jack Frost slowly opened a window in the living room and crawled inside. The Winchesters hesitated, it looked like a kid. It wasn't even a freaky looking kid, just a cold one.

"You're…Jack Frost?" Dean asked slowly.

"Yeah," Jack said, a little tersely, but then he hesitated. "You…see me?"

"We see a lot of things," Dean replied.

Jack was taken aback. "Oh…wow. I'm not used to a lot of people believing in me…much less three adults at once."

Dean raised his gun. "Why did you attack Garth?" he demanded.

Jack folded his arms moodily. "You may recall a late evening a few years ago; you saw a small feathery creature slip under a pillow, where you placed a tooth as a trap. Just as it was flying back towards the window where it came from you shot it with one of those things!" Jack said, his voice rising with anger.

"The tooth fairy?" Garth gasped. "It was ripping teeth out of people's heads."

"No!" Jack corrected. "A representation of the tooth fairy, conjured by a powerful kids mind was ripping teeth out of people's heads! It vanished the moment the kid stopped believing in it! What you shot was a baby tooth, a mini fairy of the real Tooth fairy! You ripped it to shreds with a buck shot! It took that baby tooth weeks to fully recover! Did it look like it was ripping out teeth to you? By going under a pillow and leaving a quarter?!"

"Whoa, whoa," Dean said, sticking out one hand in a placating gesture. "Slow down there, so it was an honest mistake, the fairy is alive right?"

"You broke Tooth's heart," Jack said, glaring ice daggers at Garth.

"I-I'm sorry," Garth stammered. "I thought…wrong." He sighed. "I thought wrong, I was a newbie, and shot before I thought. I'm sorry."

The anger in Jack's eyes cooled, and he sighed. "It's not me you need to apologize to."

"The Tooth fairy, of course!" Garth said enthusiastically. "Of course I'll apologize to him."

"Her," Jack said.

"Right, um…" Garth took out a notepad. "What does she look like?"

Jack shrugged. "Wings, blue and greed feathers, hot."

The lead on Garth's pencil broke and he looked up. Dean and Sam did likewise, staring at him.

Jack was gazing at the floor thoughtfully when he realized what had happened. He looked up at them wide eyed, and then bolted out the window. The three hunters exchanged glances with each other, not really knowing what to say. "So… we don't have to kill anything?" Dean asked and Sam shrugged.

"I a… guess not?"

"Huh," Dean mused. "How about that?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What, the, hell?" Crowley said, rubbing his brow and staring at one of his underlings. "The Winchesters were supposed to kill that little frozen snot not listen to his sob story and let him leave! The whole point of getting him to attack a dear friend of theirs was so that they would kill him on sight! So? What went wrong?"

"Well sir," the demon stammered. "I guess Jack didn't instigate a threat right away, but we did learn some information!" he added on quickly.

"Like what?" Crowley asked, grooming his nails.

"Guardians come back to life after a while,"

The King raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Y-yes sir."

Crowley rubbed his stubble. "Hmmm…well that could be useful to know."

Dean walked out of his room, bathrobe wrapped around him and a mug of tea in his hand. "Morning Sam," he said as he stepped past the bathroom. Sam mumbled a hello around his mouth full of toothpaste as Dean opened the refrigerator, sticking his head in to see what was available for breakfast. He grabbed out a few jars and a box of eggs, taking the armload over to the counter top. Jack casually closed the door behind him, and Dean glanced back. "Thanks," he said, and then did a double take. In a split second his gun was out and a shot was fired.

"Whoa! Hey!" Jack yelled, leaping into the air and rolling around the ceiling to avoid getting hit. "Hold up a second I'm not attacking you!"

By now Sam had rushed in, his gun out as well. "What are you doing here?!" Sam demanded.

"What is with you hunters and shoot off the cuff like that?" Jack asked, floating to the ground.

"A repetitive lifestyle," Dean answered.

"Well, you can put the fire sticks away, obviously I'm not here to hurt you guys."

"Really?" Dean said. "I've gotten that before."

Sam cleared his throat. "Um…actually Dean we haven't."

Dean glanced over at him, and then rolled his eyes thoughtfully. His gun lowered. "Huh, so we haven't. Ok then Old Man Winter, what do you want?"

"See that's what I'm talking about," Jack said, hopping up into the counter and walking along the rim of it. "You guys are so chill about this whole 'Jack Frost exists thing,' it's new."

"Well like I said before, once you get to know ghosts, demons, leviathans, windegos, changelings, dragons, shape shifters, witches, angels, and now the Tooth Fairy, everything else tends to come in stride."

"Oh good, then it won't bother you at all that Santa Clause, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny exist too?" Jack said, leaning on his staff.

There was a brief silence. "Santa Clause?" Dean said. "Look not to be rude or anything but I went through plenty of Christmas's. I didn't get much from him."

"Well he would disagree about that, but I'll let him give you that whole lecture himself." Jack replied, hopping down.

Sam stepped a little closer. "So, you're here because we intrigue you?"

"And that it's nice to be believed in by adults, that like never happens!" Jack exclaimed excitedly.

Just then there was a thud, and Dean turned. "That came from my radiator." He said.

Jack winced. "Oh yeah, there's also this tini, tiny possibility that I'm running away from one of those said lectures right now, and I figured they wouldn't be able to find me in this whole, 'hideaway' thing."

"What? We're warded against all things dark!" Dean yelled.

"Does Santa Clause sound dark to you?" Jack teased.

"Well the last one we ran into was," Sam said, making Jack do a double take.

Dean turned to Jack with a look of murder and Sam looked with an expression of unbelief as the radiator morphed into a fireplace, a hole opened up in the ground, and a portal appeared on the ceiling. "Oh no," Dean breathed. "No don't let it be them, please don't let it be them."

But it was them, and soon the kitchen was crowded by the presence of the Sandman, North, Bunnymund, and Tooth. "I told them you were running off," Bunny said. "So I brought a couple of reinforcements."

"Hello," Tooth said, waving a little as she saw Sam and Dean. "Nice to meet you, you probably don't see us."

"Now hold on a sec," Dean said, but was interrupted.

"Oh you do!"

"Yes!" Dean said tersely. "But...!

"Ah!" North exclaimed, stomping over. "Dean and Sam Winchester! I'm glad I get meet you face to face. And Jack, you might be first place on naughty list, but this is little much don't you think?"

"Shut up," Dean said, his voice grave.

"You're…Santa Clause? Sam said, a smile starting to form on his face.

"Well course!" North said jubilantly. "I have to commend you, you were always such a good lad."

Sam coughed, still trying to hide his smile. "Um... thank you."

"Sam don't even…" Dean began, but was distracted when the Tooth fairy flew past.

"Jack," said Tooth, flitting up so she was eye level with him. "We know you did something wrong and you know why we're here, so let's not go overboard ok."

"You can't going doing stuff like this, not while it's so close to Christmas," North said, placing his hands on his hips.

"All right that's it! Everybody just shut up! I don't to _hear it_!" everybody fell silent as the outburst from Dean echoed in the halls. Sam's smile disappeared as an uneasy tension filled the room. Dean turned to North, his lips tight. "Santa Clause?" he said, his voice anything but pleasant. "The Easter Bunny what the hell is this?!"

"Um," Tooth said warily. "We came because we needed to…"

Dean turned on her. "Hey, I don't really care. You know why? Because you are supposed to be dead, and these two are supposed to be fake!"

"Hey watch it!" Jack said.

"Yeah sorry for existing mate," Bunny snarled.

"Bad time Bunny," North whispered.

"W-what did we do?" Tooth asked.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding?" he scoffed as he turned back to North and Bunnymund. "You guys never showed up to my house, like…ever. I killed monsters on Christmas instead of munching on candy canes, and looked for missing people on Easter instead of eggs! And I'm not even going to start on the lack of sleep!" he turned back to Tooth. "The last tooth fairy I saw pulled all thirty some teeth out of a guy's skull with pliers, and the last Santa I saw was chowing down on human flesh."

"Oh, I heard about that guy," North said, raising a finger. "Thank you by the way."

"I'm not finished!" Dean yelled defensively. "Now all of the sudden these happy pappy fairy tales come waltzing into my bunker without a hint of irony or danger! Let me make this clear, my life doesn't have happy pappy rainbows and puppies characters in it. It has monsters! So you can all drop the act and trying to gank us or you can haul ass and leave!"

Silence ensued again. Bunny looked livid, North and Sandy were wide eyed and Tooth looked like she was going to cry. Jack let out a long breath, shaking his head once and walking over to North. He sighed. "Ok, what did I do this time and where are we going?"

"Hold on a sec," Sam said. "Um, you guys stick around for a second, we'll be right back, Dean." He grabbed his brother's arm and dragged him into the main room. "Dude... what the hell?" he asked.

"Are you serious?" Dean asked. "I just said…"

"No, you ranted. You didn't explain anything, you just vented decades of frustration that's all." Sam shook his head. "Dean, that's _Santa Clause_ in there! You know what that means?"

Dean leaned back slightly. "I don't know, what does it mean Sam?"

Sam opened his mouth, and then suddenly looked embarrassed and loosened his collar. "Well…it's a, just an honor to meet him I guess."

Dean's eyebrows rose higher than an elevator. "Oh god. You still believed in Santa Clause?!"

"I always registered it as a possibility; after all we've seen it made sense." Sam argued.

"You're such a baby," Dean laughed. "You waited for Santa Clause into your thirties?"

"Dean you realize he's standing in our kitchen talking with Jack Frost, with the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and the freakin Easter Bunny in tow. You can't insult me for believing in something that's right in front of us!" he hissed, leaning forward.

Dean hesitated, and then shrugged. "Makes sense,"

"Yeah," Sam said, "Now get back in there are apologize for that outburst."

"What?!" Dean gasped incredulously. "You're kidding!"

But Sam shook his head. "Nope, do it."

Dean let out a long aggravated groan and stormed back into the kitchen. "Uh…Lady and gentlemen a…spirits, um…folklore people uh…"

"Guardians," North offered happily.

Dean nodded. "Guardians, I a… apologize. To you two in particular, I'm sure we can figure out our uh…differences. Tooth fairy…"

"Tooth is fine," she offered. "Adding fairy can get to be a mouthful."

"Ok, I'm sorry for catching you up in all that; I don't really have a problem with you, or you Sandman, for the most part…or Jack." Sandy tipped his head, giving Dean a thumbs up. "So, that being said a…" but his works caught as Tooth slowly floated over, and started prodding her fingers into his mouth, as if there was a way to inspect ones teeth with them noticing."

"Tooth," North said as Dean backed up, rubbing his mouth.

"Oh sorry, habit," she said, floating back. "You have a really nice set of cuspids."

Dean opened his mouth, closed it and then nodded again. "Thank you…I guess."

Sam glanced over at Jack, seeing the frost spirit's lips tightened slightly and squinted eyes glancing over at Dean. "You ok?" he asked and Jack snapped out of it.

"Oh yeah," he said, licking his teeth once before moving on. "Well apology accepted," he said.

"Yeah good enough," Bunny grunted. "Now on to business,"

"That's right!" declared North. "Jack Frost it is your duty as Guardian to…" he trailed off, looking over at the Winchesters. "You mind if we do this in kitchen, it is a little crazy at the workshop?"

"Oh no, go right ahead," Sam said.

North nodded with a grin. "Thank you, now where was I oh yes! Jack Frost! Your duty as Guardian is to protect the children of the world, using your center, fun, to help them have a reason to cherish their childhood. Although you have done your duty without faultier you have done something extra that was not only unnecessary, but also a very poor choice of the use of your power."

Sandy and Tooth, unlike Bunny and North, didn't know the ins and outs of what happened. "Oh that's sounds a lot worse than I thought it would sound like Jack what did you do?" Tooth asked.

"He froze a guy to a wall and iced his teeth together." Bunny answered.

"What?!" Tooth said. "Was he attacking somebody?"

"No, but even if he was that wouldn't be something Jack should have done," North answered.

"He was just getting his Christmas decorations out," Bunny added.

"Hey in November, Jack's reaction might not have been to far off,"

"Dean!"

"Just decor...what? Jack!" Tooth said again. "I understand making people slip or freezing their snot the moment they step outside but this…"

"Hold on!" Dean said, turning on Jack. "You're the one who does that? You little prick!"

"Can we please mention the fact that this is the same guy who shot that baby tooth a number of years back?" Jack blurted.

Tooth's wings faltered for a moment, her eyes widening. North glanced at Bunny. "Oh dear," he said.

Tooth burst out of the bunker, taking off into the air, North dangling by her ankles, trying to pull her down. _"I'll punch him!"_ Tooth yelled, zig sagging in an attempt to get North off. _"So help me I'll collect three fourths of his adult memories!"_

"Jack Frost!" North yelled. "One day I'll teach you how to keep mouth shut! Tooth, it was accident! He was hunting fake fairy and got mixed up! I saw him! He is actually very, very sorry he hurt baby tooth and wants to apologize to you!"

Tooth landed instantly, her anger cooling. "Oh, well that's so sweet he must have felt awful!"

Dean shook his head. "Whoa that fast?"

She turned to him. "It's was a mistake right?"

"Yeah, it was a rookie hunter mess up," Sam answered. "Even experts get it wrong sometimes."

"Then that's all I need to know, we all make mistakes, and that mini fairy did recover."

"His name is Garth," Sam said. "And he does feel really terrible about what happened."

Tooth thought for a moment, and then nodded. "I'm going to go see him." With that she flitted off.

North turned to Jack. "Now for you. Because you over stepped your boundaries by way much Man on Moon has given me and Sandy permission to be the judges of what to do with you."

"Right ok," Jack said, shrugging. "As long as I get to do my job I'll be fine with whatever the Moon dishes out."

North huffed. "Very well then, because of what you did you will have to…have to…" he glanced over at Sam and Dean. "Will have to stay with Winchesters!"

"What?!" all three of them coursed.

"Until further notice!" North declared.

"How is that supposed to work?" Jack asked.

"Simple," North replied, fixing his cap. "You do your duty as guardian, and then report back to Winchesters."

"And that is going to be punishment how….?"

North sighed. "Sam and Dean are the only adults that can see you, keep you in check, and learn more supernatural things from. You will also learn lesson, an important one. Not only that! But you also won't have much free time!"

Jack's mouth dropped open and he turned incredulously towards Sam and Dean. Dean rubbed the back of his head. "And you think we are ok with this why?"

"Because I will pay you."

"Cookies?"

"Gold."

Both Dean and Sam exchanged glances. Money had been tight lately. "Gold?" Dean confirmed. "Like, I can exchange it for cash at the bank and buy pie and the grocery store gold, not elf warlock gold, but gold gold? And all I have to do is babysit Jack Frost?"

"That's right." North said with a nod.

Dean clapped his hands. "Done!"

"_What?_" Jack exclaimed.

"You must listen to them now, off work hours of course!" Called North as he stomped up the bank and towards his sleigh.

"What, North no! Hold on!" but it was too late, Bunny dived underground, Sandy hopped in the sleigh with North, and Tooth was gone. He slowly turned back to Dean and Sam.

Dean spread his arms. "Don't worry. We won't make it too hard on you."

The smile had come back to Sam's face, it would be nice to have a childhood dream stay with them for a while, one that wouldn't just die.

Crowley stared at his underling, dumb disbelief on his face. "Moose and squirrel met all of them? At once?"

The demon shrugged. "Y-yes sir, Jack Frost hid wherever they were hiding, that place we can't track. The other Guardians followed. Now all we know for sure is that Frost is now staying with the Winchesters."

"Oh well that's wonderful," Crowley said with a disgusted sigh. "Instead of the Winchesters killing Frost, which would have undoubtedly upset the others, causing a confrontation, and causing the boys to panic and kill the rest of them, got the Guardians _and_ the Winchesters all buddy buddy with each other!" He rubbed his brow. "What was wrong with my idea? You would think after Bloody Mary and the Hook Man they would be paranoid enough to just shoot the frosty bastard on sight."

"Well sir," the demon said hesitantly. "They would just come back to life."

Crowley looked up. "Vampires come back to life! Leviathans come back to life! But did that stop them? No! They found a way to kill them for good!" He inhaled deeply, calming down. "Well, it's a good thing there's plan B."

Pitch walked out of his layer, gliding over the countryside. He stepped onto the beach, walking into the water. He traveled into the deep, down to the bottom of the ocean. He walked the rim of a large gorge, gazing down into it. _"Can you come up a minute?" _he thought, a nightmare forming at his side and diving down into the darkness. There was silence, and then a large mast rose out of the underwater canyon. A ship, rotten and covered in barnacles followed it. It was a ghostly thing that looked as if it held the nightmares of every dark story of the deep inside of it, _The Flying Dutchman_ written in bold, cracked letters on its side. Pitch casually hopped onto the deck as it lifted itself to the surface, bursting out of the water. Hands behind his back, Pitch walked past a crowd of undead sailors. Some looked as if they had only drowned yesterday; others were decayed, covered in algae and other growths of the ocean. They cowered away from him, ruthless pirates they may have been, but this was the Boogyman, he didn't need to create reason for them to be afraid of him, they just were. He smiled slightly as he walked past them, nodding his head importantly at the first mate. He stood in front of the pirate. "I'd like to talk to the grim reaper of the ocean." He said.

The man blinked at him with his black eyes, his gills flapping once. He turned, calling loudly, exposing his shark like teeth. "Captain!"

There was silence, and then the double doors to the Captain's cabin opened up with a bang, and an imposing figure stepped out. His beard was made up of octopus tentacles, his eyes yellow and orb like, and his teeth razor sharp. He dragged deeply on a pipe and then ripped it from his lips with crusted hands and tossed it aside. "What do ye want Mr. Pitch Black?" he asked, sea water spraying from his mouth along with a puff of yellow smoke.

"Mr. Jones." Pitch said with a sneaky grin. "Have I got a deal to make with you."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A snowflake landed just above Sam's eye as he slept and the man twitched at the feeling. He opened his eyes, slowly sitting up. He looked across from where he was sleeping on the couch and into the kitchen. For a moment he was tempted to go back to sleep because he thought he was hallucinating and seeing snow falling in the kitchen. But the reality of the situation came to him and he sat bolt upright. "Jack?!" he called, running to the kitchen at looking up, snowflakes peppering his face. "Jack where? What?"

"Do you like it?" Jack asked, laying on top of the cupboards with one foot dangling over the edge. "I thought it would set a Christmassy mood to the place.

Sam slowly broke into a smile, and then a wide grin. "It's snowing in Dean's kitchen." He breathed, and then laughed slightly. "This is great!"

"I know!" Jack said. "Hey, look, I do need to get to special kids town soon alright, and I'll be gone until late afternoon."

"Yeah sure," Sam said, reaching a hand out to grab at the snow.

Dean came around the corner and blinked. "Whoa! Jack!"

"Relax," Jack said, "I'll make it go away in a snap."

"Oh no it's ok," Dean interjected. "As long as nothing gets damaged."

Dean made breakfast, as usual, and talk to Jack a little about legendary figures. There were thousands of mythological creatures, and only a few of them, few being a relative term, were Legends. Certain Legends were made Guardians. "That's the long and short of it," Jack said. "Of course I might think of something later at a convenient time."

"Cool," Dean said with a nod. "So since you stuck here we may as well find ways to help each other out. What else can you do?"

"Aside from the obvious, I can sense when demons are around."

"Really?" Sam said. "That'll help a bunch. How did you learn that trick?"

"Guardian of fun, and when stuff that isn't fun at all rolls into town, I sense it."

Dean slowly nodded. "We can make this work." He stood up. "Ok, we gotta hit the road soon, need to pick up Kevin."

"Kevin?" Jack inquired.

"Prophet of the Lord," Dean said. "Let's just say he's been doing some work on his own but it's time we moved him to the bunker."

Jack nodded, and then looked down at his burger that Dean made him. "You know, I don't really eat."

"That's ok, just try it out." Sam said.

Jack shrugged at bit into it. He swallowed. "It's good. And this is a hamburger?"

"Yeah," Dean said.

"This is really, really good!" He said, taking another bite. He finished it quickly, rolling his tongue around his mouth. "Wow,"

"Glad you liked it," Dean said with a small laugh.

"Yeah thanks," Jack said as he stood up. "Do you guys mind if I use some of your toothpaste?" he asked. "I don't get it often."

"Uh sure," Sam said, squinting a bit. "But, it's not like you need to brush right? I mean, you're immortal."

Jack, a toothbrush in hand glanced at him from around the door, and then shrugged. "Eh," he said and ducked back inside. "Dental floss do you have any of that?"

Dean glanced over at Sam. "He's gonna be handful, good thing it's paying off."

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "You can feel that kids sexual tension a mile away."

"Or at least however far away the Tooth fairy is." Dean said, chuckling.

Sam laughed as well, breathing a sigh. "I wonder how far away Cas is."

Dean nodded, and then hesitated, glancing over at him. Sam didn't meet eye contact and Dean scooped up the plates, walking back into the kitchen.

Garth carefully tied the string around his tooth, tying the other end onto his toaster. "I hope she'll take this tooth as a token of my apology. They like teeth right?" he walked over to his staircase. "It'll hurt," he said with a shake of his head. "But I shot an innocent fairy that was just doing its job. If you have to make up for that, you may as well do it right and not take a cheaters way out." He raised the toaster over his head, and threw it down.

Tooth flew in and caught the kitchen appliance right before the slack ran out, gasping, and then breathing a sigh of relief. She flew the rest of the way up, floating in front of the young hunter. He gawked at her, he string still in his mouth. "You nearly hurt yourself," she said.

"I a…I was a going to give you a tooth," Garth explained "You know…for a peace offering."

Tooth sighed, coming over and undoing the string around his tooth, carefully placing the toaster off to the side. "We only collect baby teeth if we have the choice, so we can preserve a child's memories. The adult teeth are supposed to stay with you."

"Oh," Garth said, risking a smile that fell very quickly. "I'm so sorry about what I did. It really was stupid of me."

Tooth smiled sweetly. "It's ok. I've lived long enough and seen so many stupid decisions that I don't get so mad at them anymore, especially when an apology is sincere." She tapped the side of his jaw. "And you certainly proved that you were sincere."

Garth relaxed a little. "So, you collected all of my teeth?"

"Well my fairies did, along with the last three Garth Fitzgeralds."

"Wow," Garth breathed. "So what if I had yanked that tooth?"

"Eh," Tooth said with a shrug. "It would have gone in one of those unfortunate adult memory boxes." She straightened out her feathers. "I need to get back to work now… and thank you for making it up to me."

Garth nodded, and then sucked in his lips for a moment, before very carefully leaning out over the railing, and giving her a hug. She hugged him back without hesitation, and then flew out the window. "Remember to floss!" she called.

"Yes! Yes, absolutely!" Garth called back. "I'll never forget again!"

"We got a job!" Dean called, tossing a paper into Sam's lap during lunch. "A couple of kids mysteriously vanish in the woods."

"How is it odd?" Asked Sam, studying the picture.

"No missing adults that could be kidnappers, no evidence of struggle, no blood, just…poof."

Sam rubbed his head. "Ok then, let's move. Is it far?"

"Not really, hour and a half," Dean replied. A snowball hit him full in the face and he grunted, laying a hand on his gun. He spat, wiping his face. "Jack!" he called. "You have got to stop doing that."

Sam was laughing though. "Oh come on Dean its fun." A snowball then hit Sam in the mouth and his head jerked back. He heard Jack laughing and got up. "You're so dead!" he said, a bright smile on his face as he began chasing the frost spirit.

Jack jumped and floated around, calling for Sam to back off but laughing the whole time. "I'll pack up the car," Dean called dryly. He got the Impala ready for the road and stepped back inside the bunker. "Ready?"

Sam came around the corner, Jack hog tied in a blanket and wrapped up in his arms, his feet dangling. "Ready," Sam confirmed.

They drove across the state, making their way towards the scene of the disappearance. Jack was still stuck in Sam's arms. "So, any chance you're going to let me go?"

Sam snorted. "No way, not until we get there."

Jack sighed. "So these kids…are they alive?" Neither of the brothers said anything and Jack sighed again.

Dean glanced over at him, and then rolled his eyes, nodding a little. "Maybe, it happens sometimes."

Jack huffed, going limp. "Sounds like Slendy."

Dean blinked and then slowly turned towards him. "You wanna run that by me again?" he said.

Jack shrugged. "It sounds like something Slender man would do."

"Slender man? As in from the internet Slender man?" Sam asked him.

"Well yeah, even though technically the rumors and sightings happened in 1600s Germany, he only became really popular recently."

"Perfect," Dean groaned. "We're going after America's wood dwelling nightmare."

"Friends," Pitch said, standing in the woods in front of a group of other 'unique' individuals. "Thank you for making time to come around, not that you actually had a schedule to adjust."

"_Why should we listen to you?"_ The voice that spoke in his head was silent and yet still could be 'heard?' Pitch turned to the thing that went bump in the night, Slender man.

"Because we have a common interest. I was locked away for _centuries_ under the bed!" Pitch yelled. Flashbacks of North and Bunnymund dragging a bed into the middle of the woods came to him, memories how the portal to his layer appeared under it. He gritted his teeth. "That bed eventually rotted, and I was freed. What makes you think for one second that they won't do the same to you?!" A few of the gathered Legends glanced at each other in thought, except for Slender man, who continued to stare at Pitch unblinkingly. The Pied Piper, Spring Heeled Jack, the Headless Horse man, Hook Man, Stingy Jack even Goat man was present, holding a mirror with the image of Bloody Mary inside. All were hear, and now all of them were listening. Pitch composed himself. "Now I already have Davy Jones in on this. We are going to fight these Guardians. Back in the Dark Ages I ruled over the safety of children and adults alike, and you, if you existed back then, were all free to do what you wanted. But now we have to put up with _them_. If you help me dislodge them, I'll let you do whatever it is you have been doing without interference."

Two teenage boys lay behind the group of them, fast asleep, and Slender man slowly looked over his shoulder, stealing a glance at them. He turned back to Pitch and Spring Heeled Jack rubbed his chin. "You know," he crooned. "I don't really upset the Guardians the way Mary and Hook do. I just have fun." Pitch started to glare, but SP Jack held up a hand. "But! I've been bored lately. So I'll help out, just to make life interesting."

"Agreed," Stingy said, twirling his Jack-o-lantern. "I've been walking the grey line for a while. I'm ok going totally black for a time."

"Jack Frost is with the Winchesters," snarled Hook man, and Bloody Mary hissed. "And I would love a chance to sink my hook into their gut."

"_I'm in,"_ came the chilling voice in Pitch's head.

"Yes," Mary hissed, and the Headless Horse man nodded, the Goat man bellowing in return.

Pitch smiled. "You're making the right choice," he turned to the Pied Piper. "As for you," he flipped him a quarter. "I'm sure where you come from modern American currency goes for a lot. Consider this a payment for handling the Guardians, especially Jack Frost. If we subdue him, the others might fall easier."

The Piper rolled his tongue, biting the coin, then pocketed it, tipped his hat, and skipped off, playing an old Medieval melody on his flute. The Hook frowned. "Was that a yes?"

Pitch shook his head. "I have no idea." The Legends separated after Pitch gave the orders, Slender man leaving the boys where they lay. They would wake up, terrified, and he would begin his tormenting fear infliction all over again. The moon was becoming visible in the sky and Pitch turned to face it. "What?!" he asked defensively. "Oh! I know what you're thinking, 'you tried this already and it didn't work. What makes you think my precious Guardians will fail this time?'" he said in a mocking voice, as if mimicking his former friend. "I did it alone last time, this time I have help." He stood there in silence, and then anger overtook him and he screamed up at the sky. "I'll prove that you were wrong! _I'll prove it!_ The only thing this world needs _is me!_"

Crowley watched the Boogyman from a distance, smugly leaning against a tree. "Plan B," he sighed contentedly. "Let them do all the work."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dean, Sam and Jack stared at the dark tree line in front of them, crickets chirping around the evening woods. Dean let out his breath slowly, handing Sam a flashlight. "Ok here's how this hunt is going to go. If you can see Slendy then he can get you so try not to stare if your light catches him. There are eight pages in these woods that, for some reason, he really doesn't want people to have."

"Wherever those pages are Slender man will be," Jack said. "If people get a hold of them he goes wherever they are taken."

"Yeah but doesn't that mean he can just follow and kill you?" Sam asked and Jack shrugged.

"Well…yeah, but you guys are the professionals, I'm gonna see if I can reason with him. If that doesn't work, I'll have to report to North."

"Now Slendy can teleport, slice open people, and stretch his arms long distances." Dean went on. "He will try to sneak up on to kill you, so take peeks at him every once in a while. And finally, this guys causes 'Slender sickness,' bleeding nose, anxiety, and loss of sanity."

"Wow that's…great," Sam said with a shake of his head. "Can't wait."

"Lastly," Dean said, handing Sam a video camera. "You will always be able to see him with this."

"And I can see him anytime," Jack said.

"So I'll do the page retrieval." Dean finished.

They stepped into the woods, an owl hooting in the night. The walk was dark and quiet, and for some reason Dean looked more anxious than usual. "Are you ok?" Sam asked him as they searched.

"Yeah I'm cool," Dean answered, his eyes wide.

Sam frowned. "No you're not; you look like a dear in headlights."

"He was playing Slender on your computer at the hotel last night," Jack commented offhandedly, swishing his flashlight.

Sam didn't say anything, he just gave his brother a suffering look. "So Jack…"

"Yeah?"

"You and the Tooth Fairy."

"Oh yeah," Jack said quickly. "Saw her working here and there over a period of three hundred years, but only really met her last year."

"Right," Sam said. "But what I'm asking is that I can't help but notice that you brush and floss excessively."

"It's a good habit," Jack offered.

"You were born in the medieval days buddy," Dean interjected. "You didn't do that kind of thing, not with the modern stuff Tooth wants kids to use now a days."

Jack squinted at him. "Don't you think this is a bad time to talk about this?"

Dean and Sam shared a glance and each other, and then turned back to Jack. "No not really," they chorused.

Jack's squint turned into a frustrated frown. "Well I don't know what you are looking for,"

"Aw come on," Dean teased, slapping and arm around his shoulders, and then proceeded to mimic Jack. "You know she has wings, blue and green feathers, _hot_,"

"Shut up," Jack said, shoving him and turning away, flustered.

"Not to mention to horrifyingly jealous look you gave Dean when she stuck her fingers in his mouth instead of yours," Sam added.

"I did not!" Jack stammered, pulling up his hood. "Cut it out,"

"Come kid we're just teasing," Dean said, ruffling his head. "But seriously, you've been single for three hundred years, and Tooth looks like a nice girl. We're all guys here, which means you can tell us about this stuff."

"Ok, ok!" Jack said, stepping out in front of them and pulling down his hood. "I planned on spending some time with her but I work days and she works nights."

"It's not like you spend all day having snowball fight after snowball fight though," Sam pointed out

"Right, except now I'm stuck with you guys after the work is done."

Dean rubbed his chin, and Sam gave him a nod. "Well I see no reason why we couldn't give you some free time."

"Really?!" Jack said, his eyes brightening. "Not that this is a…um 'relationship thing,' I just thought it would be nice to see her…my friend."

"Sure," Dean said, smiling. "You get free time for every successful hunt that you help with."

"But how does that line up with you regulating my…activities?"

Sam shrugged, "Simple, you leave your stick with us,"

"He's gonna want his stick with him to see Tooth," Dean said, raising his eyebrows and grinning at Sam.

Sam slowly turned around to face him. "Really Dean?" he asked and Dean shrugged.

"Yeah I need that staff to get around by the way," Jack said to them, fixing them with a look and missing Dean's implication. Jack then looked up quickly, running ahead of them. "Guys!" he called, snatching up a paper stuck at the base of a tree. "It's the first paper." Suddenly the hunt was on again, along with all the peril which they had momentarily forgotten in their fun. After the first paper, the pages became turning up more and more, and with it, the monster behind them. Sam jumped as he saw his light flash across a white featureless face. "Dean I saw him," he whispered and Dean swallowed. Jack jumped over to where Slender man had appeared, but the Legend was gone. Dean grabbed the fourth paper off of a tree branch. Slender man appeared again in the corner of their eyes, making them jump. Sam found the fifth paper, and Jack the sixth, Dean grabbing both of them. The effect of Slender man's presence thrummed in the hunter's heads. Jack's light fell on the lanky figure and he took two steps back, and then ran toward him. "Slendy!" he called. "Scaring kids out of the woods is one thing but tormenting them to death is taking it too far!"

The monster's arms stretched out, snatching Jack by the ankles and pulling him into the darkness. "Jack!" Sam yelled, running towards the scene.

An ice wave appeared off to the side and Jack flew through the air, landing next to them again. "Quit abusing your power!" Jack yelled, gripping his staff.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jack breathed. "But don't run towards him, not matter what happens." He held up the seventh paper. "I got this by the way."

Dean gripped the stake in his hand tightly, and then suddenly he gulped deeply, touching his nose. Blood oozed out of it. He gave a horse gasp, sinking to his knees. "Sam," he called.

Sam winched as the camera he was holding glitched, turning away from the Slender man. He saw the last note laying on the ground a few paces off. "Hold on Dean," he called, running for it. He grabbed it up, turning around, right into the white face of Slender man. The camera fuzzed out and Sam felt blackness engulfing him. Out of nowhere, a blast of ice blindsided the monster, freezing it firmly to a tree. Sam gasped, inhaling harshly, pulling the camera away from his face. Dean shook himself and stood up, walking over to the tree. The two hunters and Jack stood in front of the trapped Legend. "Nice shot," Sam breathed and Jack grunted.

"Thanks,"

"All right then," Dean said, raising the stake over his head.

"Hold on!" Jack said, "We can't kill him. It'll do no good, he'll just come back. We have to lock him away."

Dean sighed, lowering the stake, "Yeah I know that was part of the plan, but are you sure ganking him won't help?"

Jack just shook his head. "Sorry," he took the notes from the Winchester and turned round, pulling out a sugar cube.

"What's that for?" Sam asked and Jack grinned back at him.

"A Tooth fairy caller," he stuck it into his back molars, and crunched down on it.

There was a moment of silence, and then a piercing cry ran through the woods and Tooth swooped down onto the scene, prying open Jacks mouth and staring into it. "What have you done?!" she gasped.

"What?" Jack said, the sugar gone.

"Your _teeth_!" she cried.

"Pressing matter," Dean called, and Tooth looked up.

"Slendy?" she said, her lip curling slightly. "What's going on here?" she asked, turning to Jack suspiciously.

"Slender man kidnapped two kids," Jack explained. "We're locking him away."

"Why now?" Tooth asked.

"Cause we're here, and this is our job," Dean said.

"What is this?" Pith's voice echoed through the trees. "You can't just do that right off the bat!" he materialized, folding his arms.

"Pitch," Jack said darkly. "Got away from your own fears I see."

"As always," Pitch said. "Now let Mr. bump in the night go."

"Sorry pal," Dean said. "Don't know who you are…"

"The Boogyman," Jack interrupted and Dean closed his eyes.

"Thank you for that, Jack. Either way," he snatched up the notes, handing them to Tooth along with a thick iron nail and a mallet. "These notes are getting nailed to a tree in some discrete, inaccessible, and boring woodland area in Wyoming."

Tooth took the material. "Why Wyoming?" she asked.

"Cause it doesn't exists," Dean answered, as if the answer was obvious.

"What makes you say that?" Pitch asked, contempt in his voice.

"Think about it, have you ever met anyone from Wyoming?" Dean asked.

Pitch and Tooth though about that and then they both shrugged, consenting the point, and Tooth took off. "Pitch!" she yelled as she flew. "You lay one finger on them and I'll knock another one of your crooked teeth out!"

Slender man pushed against the ice, but to no avail. Pitch was about to send nightmares after the fairy, but Jack held up his staff and the Winchesters took a menacing step towards him. He hesitated. "I get the feeling that this is a bad time to fight."

"What are you up to Pitch?" Jack demanded.

"So you are the Winchesters?" Pitch asked, completely ignoring Jack. "Somebody mentioned you; my guess was you were supposed to kill this icy pest."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Name now!" Dean demanded.

"Yeah sorry," Pitch droned. "I don't really see why he thought you so threatening. You both would be dead without little Jack here, I doubt you can handle the others."

"The others?!" Jack exclaimed. "You're working with the fallen Legends?"

"Organizing them," Pitch corrected.

"You don't need to tell me the motive I already know, didn't you already try this?" Jack said.

Pitch practically exploded. "Shut up!" he yelled. "I will not be cheated of what is rightfully mine! And I don't care what I have to do to get it done!"

"A bit of a pre Madonna aren't we?" Dean said, smirking.

"_Release me!"_ Slender man hissed inside of their heads.

"Oh gee," Dean called back mockingly. "He told me to do something, now I must listen. Besides, it's too late now buddy."

Across America, Tooth held the eight notes on a thick tree, and pounded the stake like nail through the tops of them.

Slender man vanished with a screech and Pitch gritted his teeth. "Next time then," he said, disappearing into the darkness.

Jack turned to Sam and Dean. "I need to report this."

"Go ahead," Dean said with a nod.

Jack returned the nod, and then hesitated. "Any chance afterwards I could…you know, see if Tooth has everything set right?"

Dean snorted a laugh, covering his mouth. "Sure, just be back at the bunker by 6:00 am sharp."

Jack smiled, shifting excitedly. "Thanks guys, I won't abuse this." he called down as the wind carried him off.

Dean turned to Sam. "Fifty bucks says it was Crowley wheeling and dealing with the Boogyman."

"Keep the cash," Sam said, walking off. "I'll lose if I take that bet."

Jack let wind carry him to Nevada, meeting up with Tooth. He caught her by the wrist as he landed in front of her. "Is it done?"

Tooth smirked as she stepped back, twirling the mallet. "Four inches in and one sticking out, that nail will last Slendy a good long while."

Jack smiled. "Awesome,"

Tooth nodded with a contented huff, and then folded her arms. "You know if you hadn't gone all crazy on Garth you would be allowed to go places without permission,"

"Yeah but here's the thing," Jack said, holding up once finger. "Aside from the fact that they need the money like crazy, which by uh…looking after me will help, I have an opportunity to catch them up with their childhood. Face it Tooth, they didn't have one, we can make it up to them."

"You know we can only do so much while they're fighting hell right?" Tooth pointed out.

"Yep I realize that," Jack sighed. "But I can help them with that too. Just look at what we did with Slender man."

"I dunno Jack," Tooth said, biting her lip and rubbing on arm. "Their job is so…intense, and your center is so…not."

"Relax," Jack said, laughing a little. "I'm not gonna lose my center just by helping out Sam and Dean." He glanced up at the sky, and then the woods. "You know, now that Slendy is stuck in on particular spot in Wyoming, how about we go sliding?"

Tooth blinked. "Sliding?"

"It's fun," Jack said. "Check this out." After some work, Jack had created large sloping ice slides and led Tooth to the top of one, three stories up. "Ready?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, looking excited.

"Just one rule," Jack said. "You can't fly."

"Huh?!"

"You heard me, let gravity do the work." Before she could protest, Jack and taken her hand, held down her wings with his other arm, and jumped onto the slide with her. If anybody who believed them had been around they would have heard their whoops and cries of excitement and fun all the way across the forest.

They slid and flew around, covering vast amounts of ground as the slops flung them high into the air. Eventually they got back to the bunker, and landed on the roof. Jack laughed heartily, one hand on his stomach as he lay in the snow on his back. Tooth carefully landed beside him, letting her feet rest on the ground. "And you do that every night?" she asked, letting out a sigh as she felt herself calming down, her feathers, which had been windblown, smoothing back in place.

"Mostly," Jack breathed, closing his eyes. "You sure this was ok, with your job and all?"

Tooth nodded with a hum. "The mini fairies can handle themselves for tonight. But if we do this again, we better do it during the day."

"Days are full for me, how about late afternoons and early evenings?"

Tooth twisted her mouth to the side, thinking, and then nodding once."Ok,"

Jack smiled up at her, propping himself up on his elbows. "Hey…Tooth?"

She sat in the air beside him, turning her head. "Yeah?"

Jack licked his lips, and rubbed his chin. "Um…"

"Yeah?" she asked again.

Jack swallowed, and then changed gears. "North is calling an emergency meeting tomorrow."

Tooth leaned back. "Oh…"

"Oh?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm oh…no. That's not good," she corrected, brushing her feathers back from her ear. "It has something to do with what just happened doesn't it?"

"Yep," Jack confirmed, standing up and cracking his back. "So I'll be seeing you early tomorrow morning."

Tooth rubbed her mouth with one hand. "Right, good night Jack."

"Night Tooth," he replied, and then swung inside the bunker.

Slender man stood motionless in the remote woods he had been banished to. He was angry, very, very angry, especially since those two boys would be waking up, and spreading the news about him. Normally this would not be a problem, but know he wouldn't be able to 'greet' the flux of thrill seekers. He turned his head as he heard a footstep. Maybe this new forest wasn't as inaccessible as they thought it would be. But when the Pied Piper stepped into his view Slender man was bitterly disappointed. _"You can't free me,"_ he said. _"So why are you hear Pied Piper?"_ The Piper smirked, lifting his flute, and playing a tune. Slender man felt his legs stiffen and come together, and then step out again in a dancing step. He twirled in place his long arms coming up in uncontrollable movements. He danced wildly, and yet gracefully at the same time. The Piper smiled again as the music intensified, Slender man's feet stumbled slightly and he began to reel, dangerously off balance. The Piper hit one last shrill note and Slender man lept backwards into the air, hurling himself into a broken, pointed tree branch. The wood impaled the monster and his feet jerked with the sudden pain. His hands grabbed at the protruding branch for only a few seconds, before his arms went limp and he hung there, defeated. The Piper pocketed his flute, skipping off into the night. It would be days before Slender man would free himself from that branch, and he would be weak for weeks afterwards.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Pitch has united the fallen Legends," North said, his voice serious as he and the other Guardians stood in a circle at the North Pole. "Slender man is taken care of, but this is only because we got a preemptive strike in, thank you Jack and Tooth fairy."

"You're welcome," Jack said, bowing slightly in jest.

"Still, situation is bad," North went on. "Obviously Davy Jones can't get us on land, so we can assume that it will be the others that attack us in near future."

"When I get my hands on that sneaky bed bug," Bunny said, wringing his paws. "I'll clobber him so hard his head will spin."

"Remember, Pitch does not want to kill us," North reminded them. "He wants to do worse than that. He wants us to be useless and powerless, while he sets things back to the Dark Ages, when Man on Moon had him in charge."

"Dean and Sam can help us," Jack said. "They're good at what they do and they already sent Hook man and Bloody Mary packing once already."

"What about the other Legends that we are allies with?" Tooth asked. "I'm sure Patrick or the Groundhog would be able to help."

"Ew," Bunny said, grimacing. "Look I'm the only one who can reach his hole, and I am not going to talk to that guy, ok mates?"

"Fine, we can ask Time," Tooth offered. "Or Nature, she's awful sweet and would defiantly give us a hand."

"It is not their job to handle these kinds of affairs," North said.

"Yeah," Bunny confirmed. "Not to mention that Nature may be sweet, but some days she can be a dark moody entity triple dipped in psycho."

North took the floor again. "That is why there is a difference between Guardians and Legends. Although, despite that Tooth makes good point, if emergency happens, we call on our friends."

Just then, the yetis burst in, hauling the Pied Piper into the group by his arms. "What you doing here?" Bunny demanded.

The Piper smirked slightly, mute as ever and the yetis dropped him after North gave them a nod. He brought up his flute and all the Guardians trained their weapons on him. He gave them a chiding look, and put his lips to the instrument, beginning to play. The Piper could make anything dance, humans, Legends, even inanimate objects.

But his flute was also his means of communication. Like Slender man, his words appeared in their minds._ "They are attacking the Tooth Palace, setting up an ambush."_

Tooth began to fly off but North caught her hand. "Hold on Tooth," he got right in the Piper's face. "Why should we trust you, you who kidnapped…" his eyes closed with anger, but he let it cool. "Pitch no doubt called upon you as well to help him with this."

The Piper played his music again. _"I never said yes to Pitch, you can trust me on this one."_

North straightened "Jack, get to the Winchesters, see if they have a plan. Everybody else, we head to sleigh, see if we can get the jump on them."

Jack ran into the bunker room, calling for Sam and Dean, Kevin came around the corner and Jack jumped, startled. Kevin was just as surprised. "Whoa…wait! Let me guess, you're Jack Frost."

"Yeah," Jack said, "And you are…?"

"Kevin," the Prophet said slowly.

"Oh yeah, Dean said he would be bringing you hear, good to meet you, excuse me a second, the Tooth Fairy's palace is under attack by the Boogyman and about three other urban legends." He brushed past him.

"Um, ok, good luck," Kevin said hesitantly.

_"Seeing somebody believe right off the bat like that never gets old,"_ Jack thought to himself with a smile. "Sam, Dean! I need your help here."

The two came jogging over. "What's happened?" Sam asked.

Soon the four of them were seated in a circle, papers and books piled around them. "Ok, the ambushers are Goatman, the Headless Horse man, Spring Heeled Jack, Stingy Jack and Pitch." Jack explained. "What can we do about that?"

"Well SH Jack was always known for being a bit of a trickster, see a pattern forming?" Dean said, raising his eyebrows at Jack.

"Yeah, yeah, go on," Jack said, waving on hand passively.

"So he isn't the most vicious type. He can jump and climb like crazy, but isn't really the killing type."

"There for kicks," Jack sighed. "Brilliant."

"We can probably just break his leg or something, gun fire never seemed to work though," Sam mused. "Now the Horseman is supposed to stay in Sleepy Hollow, which would contain him enough. I'm guessing he's going to want to get back to looking for his head soon. If we smash his pumpkin, he'll probably cash in for the century and head back home."

"Good," Dean murmured. "As for Goatman, we can probably just fight him."

"Probably," Jack confirmed. "Take away his axe, knock him out. That should work but how to do lock him away, what controls him."

"Screw it," Dean grunted. "Let's just throw the retard into a cave and seal it off."

There was a moment of silence, and then Sam shook his head once, standing up. "That'll do," he sighed. "Let's get to the Tooth Palace."

Dean hopped into the Impala, buckling in and revving up the engine. He listened how it purred and vibrated, this was by far the most glorious car he had ever driven. He turned up the radio and rolled down the window. "Hey Sam! What's the hold up?"

Sam stopped by the window, a large duffel bag full of weapons over his shoulder. "Dean...we're not taking the car."

The universe around Dean shattered for a moment. "What?!"

"We're going to the Tooth Fairy's palace Dean! There's no way in hell that we're gonna get there by car!"

He clicked off the engine. "So what? Jack carries us in his scrawny arms?" Jack hopped up onto the roof of the Impala. "Hey get off of Baby's roof!" Dean called up to him.

"Chill," Jack said, enjoying the subtle pun, and pulling out one of North's snow globes. He tossed it up the road and a portal to Tooth's palace appeared. He swung into the car. "Drive on good sir,"

"Nice," Sam breathed as he too got into the car and Dean fired up the engine again, speeding down the road towards it.

Kevin watched from the door to the bunker, and then his eyes widened as he saw the Hook leap down from a tree, landing solidly on the roof of the car before it disappeared into the portal. He inhaled and turned, running into the bunker. He staggered over to the coffee table, grabbing up his phone. He was about to dial Sam's number, when he saw a movement in front of him. Looking up, he saw the flash of Bloody Mary's image in the small mirror in the living room. He stared in horror, and then ran from the room, slamming the door behind him, instantly hearing Mary slam her hands against it.

"What was that?" Dean asked as he drove down the dirt road towards the tower. "Something's on Baby's roof!" He turned the wheel sharply, and they saw a pair of dirty boots, swing down in the view of the window, before scrambling back up. Dean straightened the car, putting on speed. "I'll kill em if they put a scratch on her!" Dean half roared. They stopped at the base of the tower, they could see the mini faries, chattering because of the uproar. Dean and Sam shared a look, both of them nodding. They both silently counted to three, and then rolled out of the car, drawing their handguns. With a yell the Hook man jumped down from the Impala, dragging a long ugly thin down her side. The brother's fired three shots each, but they had no effect.

Jack froze the ghost where it stood. "We'll have to come back for him; the ambush needs to be tripped."

"Counter ambush right?" Dean asked and Jack gave a nod, flying up to the top of the tower. The Winchesters ran into the base, running up the stairs.

Jack landed softly on the round flattened roofs, turning a slow circle. Suddenly, Goatman, Pitch, and the other Jacks jumped up from the rims of the tower, rushing him. Jack let out a surprised yell, jumping into the air and dodging the multiple attacks that were raining down on him. Dean and Sam turned around with a start, hearing the screech of a horse. The Headless Horseman was charging them from behind, galloping up the stairs. Spring heeled leapt down in front of them, throwing a punch. Dean ducked it, returning the attack, only to have the red eyed Legend slickly step to the side, slapping him across the face. The Horseman gained ground, the stairs splintering and cracking under him as he ran up them. The mini fairies were going crazy, swooping in and biting at the attackers. Goatman rammed the top of his axe into Jack's gut, shoving him backwards. He staggered as Stingy swung his lantern at his head, barely ducking it. Pitch was busy trying to get the pesky minis away. Sam lurched forward as the hooves of the horse knocked him in the back, sending him on his stomach with a groan. Then, like a good old fashioned cavalry, the sleigh swooped by, North, Tooth, Bunny and Sandman jumping onto the scene.

"No!" Pitch yelled. If he had had just enough time to defeat Jack Frost, the others may have fallen easier. Bunny threw both of his boomerangs, hitting Stingy on either side of the head. North ran down to help the Winchesters.

"Hey there," Spring Heeled crooned, flipping backwards and grabbing a railing. North ushered the brothers onto a balcony that overlooked the waterfall. "I'm here for kicks, having to fight Nicholas St. North is not what I would consider kicks." Dean fired a shot at him but the Legend jumped to the side. "Ah, ah, aaah," he chided. "I'm too quick for that Winchester." The Horseman dismounted, drawing a saber.

"Stand back!" North said, stepping forward, and clashing blades with the headless Legend.

Spring Heeled Jack leapt towards the Winchesters, engaging them in hand to hand combat. He was so fast though, unnaturally so, that Dean and Sam received far more hits than they landed. Eventually Sam was kicked so that he nearly fell down the stairs, and SP Jack shoved Dean into the railing, trying to push him over. Dean grunted with the effort to stay up, losing his ground. Sam rushed behind the Legend, grabbing him up by the neck. Dean ran behind Sam as Spring Heeled shoved Sam off, and then rushed the Legend. He leapt into the air, aiming both his feet for his opponent's chest. Jack stepped to the side, Dean flying over the railing. "Dean!" Sam yelled, seeing his brother fall. He slid onto the ground, seizing one of SP Jack's feet and yanking him down. Standing up, he stomped one foot into his knee and twisted the captured ankle painfully. Spring Heeled hollered, holding his leg and rolling slightly. Sam ran to the edge, just in time to see Tooth haul Dean up. "You ought to be more careful," she chided. "Just because you're fighting on a tower doesn't mean somebody has to get knocked off it."

Finishing his prolonged dual, North finally grabbed the Horseman's arm, swinging his other sword right above his neck. He stopped for a moment. "Well I'm sure that would have worked," he commented. "If you actually had head."

"I got this," Tooth called, flying over and plucking the pumpkin away from the Legend. With a casual toss, she sent in careening down the shaft of the tower, splattering at the bottom. The Horseman lowered his sword, obviously put out. But then consented his defeat, mounted his steed, and rode away.

Bunny kicked Stingy full in the face, adding to his already splitting headache. The mischievous Legend collapsed onto the ground. Bunnymund stood over him menacingly, placing one foot on the jack-o-lantern he carried. "No don't!" Stingy pleaded. "If you do that I'll…!"

"What?" interrupted Bunny. "Have to bounce between heaven and hell, waste time attempting to get another one, start all over power wise? Yeah, I know. You're not dangerous enough to lock away mate, but you do deserve a time out." Adding pressure, the Easter Bunny crunched the lantern under foot. Stingy Jack let out a crying sob of anger, holding his aching head as he slowly grew transparent and then vanished in a puff of dust.

The Goatman violently pulled himself up onto the domed part of the tower, climbing after Sandy. He swung his axe in large sweeping arches, making Sandy dance back and forth, snapping his whips at him, He eventually was able to wrap one around his middle, flinging him back onto the flat of the tower. Goatman pulled himself up, bleating up at him "HeY!" he called. "CoMe bAcK dOwN hEre and plAaaY!" his voice sounded like one of those silly videos of animals that sounded like they were talking. Such a voice coming from such a creature was a terrifying mix. Pitch snarled, shoving past him and confronting Sandman himself.

"I'll play with ya," Dean barked, raising his gun.

Goatman barely had enough time to turn around when Dean began sinking iron into him. It wheezed and bleated in pain, staggering back, and then lurching foreword, swinging his axe down. Dean side stepped, grabbing the side of it's head and fired a shot into it point blank. The Goatman bellowed, blood running down his fur. He smacked Dean aside, looking up at him. "I aLwaYs WanTeD a PlaYMatE LiKe YooooU!" he called bleating the last part. "CAn wE HaVe MoRE FuuUuN?"

Dean let out his breath. "Boy you are one sick bastard." He grabbed up the axe that Goatman now realized he had left stuck in the wood.

He backed up, now suddenly scared as Dean approached with the weapon. "NoT ToO rOuGH! nOT ToO RoUUuGH!"

Pitch hit the floor hard, just as splat of blood hit his face. He shook his head, looking up mortified as he watched Goatman fall over, his own axe sunk deep into his shoulder and neck area, a mixture of bleating and screaming vibrating up his throat and out of his mouth. He slowly pulled himself up as Jack Frost, Bunnymund and Sandy stood in front of him. Sam joined his brother along with the others. "Well, that looks like a wrap," he turned to the Tooth fairy. "Thanks for the save. Is that you're part of the job mostly?"

"Huh?" Tooth asked.

"Saving people's bacon and running the goods to the needed destination." Dean said, as if that cleared it up. Tooth still looked lost and Dean rolled his eyes. "Bunny has his boomerangs, North has swords, there's a staff, sand whips, so what I'm basically asking is whether or not you actually…" Dean was cut short as Tooth suddenly flew past him. The Hook had climb up the tower, and was just raising his barb to cut into Dean when Tooth flew right up to him, flipping in the air, the hidden blades in her feathers slicing up his middle, and kicking off the edge, causing him to plummet with a half groan, half yell. "…Fight," Dean finished, looking shocked.

Tooth relaxed, giving a sheepish smile. "Ok, so the fight would have been missing something if a bad guy didn't go over."

Pitch winched at the painful memory of Tooth's punches and slowly stood, but North held him at sword point. Sorry Pitch, this time, you're not going anywhere.

Bunny dusted his hands, meeting the others at the Impala. "Goatman is sealed off in a nice cozy cave who's main entrance is a sheer rock wall, Spring Heeled Jack is back in London, but won't be having fun for a while thanks to you Sam. Horseman is back in the hallow, and it looks like he intends to stay there this time, and the Hook's hook is now stuck on the underside of a cargo train that is electronically run and is always moving, save for the times it's unloaded in broad daylight. We are set mates!"

The others were happy at this news, but Dean was paying no mind. The long gouge in the Impala was still clearly visible. North noticed and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "No worries, you're payment will cover."

Dean cleared his throat. "Yeah I know. I just hate when this kind of stuff happens to her."

"By the way," Sam said, turning to Jack. "What's with all the Jacks? Spring Heeled Jack, Stingy Jack, Jack Frost?"

"As far as I can tell, it's only a coincidence," Jack replied with a shrug.

"I love how you all think that this is over," Pitch said, his eyes glowering.

"Yeah," Bunny snarled. "I can't help but notice that it is."

Pitch folded his arms with a smile. "Is it how? How cute."

At that moment, a black pool of Pitch's sand appeared under all of them, swallowing everybody but the Impala into darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jack turned in a slow circle, breathing deeply. "Hello Jack," Crowley said, stepping out of the blackness that surrounded him. The darkness faded, revealing that they were standing in a stone dungeon like room.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded, raising his staff.

"Crowley, King of hell," the demon replied. "I hear that you Guardians can't die, so I figured I'd drop by to test that out."

Jack suddenly realized he couldn't move, not an inch, he couldn't even make a sound. He looked up, wide eyed, as Crowley casually walked over to him and slid an angel blade into his chest. Jack let out a loud yell, staggering, and then slumping forward into Crowley's arms. The demon hauled him over his shoulder, walking back into the darkness.

*Dean awoke to the groan of a creaking ship, his head lulling. He vaguely remembered appearing in front of a large group of what looked like fish people. Not a moment after he appeared, the monsters had pounced on the lot of them, beating them to the deck with fierce strokes. His head pounded and throbbed, his body suddenly remembering the pain he had been in before he had passed out. His eyes opened the rest of the way; he was locked in the stockade, bilge water swishing around his legs. He swallowed, looking up. Sam was next to him, Tooth and North in front of him, and Bunny off to the side. There was no sign of Sandy or Jack. He spat a bit of dried blood from his mouth, nudging Sam with his leg. "You alive?"

Sam inhaled, squeezing his eyes tightly shut for a moment. "Yeah, I'm up, where are we?"

"Flying Dutchman," North called over. "The ghost ship of Davy Jones."

"He's going to make us all work mate," Bunny muttered. "Ten year term."

"Glad to hear it," Dean sighed. "This means this is an escape, not a hunt."

"If I don't get out by this evening those kids poor kids won't have their teeth collected!" Tooth cried, pulling against the stocks.

"It already is evening," North sighed. "The children will last one day, just leave two quarters."

"That's not the point!" Tooth grunted, still fighting the restraints.

"Yeah we know," Bunny called. "So let's brain storm."

"We could jump overboard and have Tooth fly us to land," Sam offered.

"The ship is guarded by the kraken," North said. "You'll die for sure. Plus Tooth's wings are tied."

Davy Jones stepped into the room along with some of his men, having them unlock the stocks. "Get to the deck," he said. "I've got work for you to do."

Dean slapped a wet mop onto the wood of the deck, scrubbing at it. "This is pointless," he grunted. "This thing is always wet! Why do we need to mop it?" A loud snap sound and a ragged scream filled the air as the disciplinary captain slashed a cat-o-nine-tails across a disobedient pirate's back. Dean swallowed. "Right, swabbing the poop deck, cool, good job."

North grunted as he hauled on a rope, hoisting a tattered sail. The ship was so broken that everything done on it was pointless. The ship was driven by magic, there was no need to hoist, mop, clean, or repair anything. But these crewmen and slaves were dammed to serve and work on this ship, so work they did. Jones stepped up to Tooth, who was clumsily walking on her feet, hauling a bucket. "It's bad luck to have a woman on the ship," he said. "Especially one that is so obviously a result of a circus breakout."

"What the bloody ell did you just say to her?!" Bunny roared, hopping over and throwing down the mop he had been using.

Jones turned, grabbing him by the throat and putting a dagger to his cheek. "Another outburst from you Mr. Bunnymund and you'll be flogged by my very hand." He dropped him, glancing over at Tooth. "Consider yourself lucky Miss Tooth. The crew doesn't really fancy a female without any alluring aspects about her."

Tooth folded her arms around herself, her lips tightening. She gritted her teeth, grabbing up the bucket again and carrying it off. Bunny slowly pulled himself up, his eyes livid. They couldn't risk fighting them, there were too many. Jones went back into his chambers, easing himself into a chair. Pitch stood in the corner. "What is this?" he asked. "You handed away Sandman and Jack on a whim to Crowley?"

"If ye ever want to get somewhere in life Mr. Pitch, you need to make deals with the Devil." He sighed, drawing deeply on his pipe.

"He cheats!" he exclaimed. "And he intends to kill them! They need to stay alive, that is the only way I can prove my point to the Man on the Moon!"

"He played you for a fool Pitch!" Jones said, standing up, knocking over his chair. "I knew you would get my help and the others! He knew you would fight and he figured there was a chance that you would all kill each other!" he settled. "I give him Jack and Sandman, he lets me keep the Winchesters for a decade." Pitch worked his jaw and Jones turned his head, looking him in the eye. "That's not bothering you is it? The fact that Crowley is making those two Guardians miserable?"

Pitch looked away quickly. "No of course not," he muttered. "I uh…best be off, thank you again for your help Mr. Jones. I tell you how things are going on the land's end in a year's time."

Dean glanced over at the metal ring that held Tooth's wings together. Sam leaned over to him. "I listened in on Pitch and Jones, Crowley has Jack and Sandman."

"If we can just undo that ring," Dean muttered back. "Tooth will be able to fly."

"If she can get Santa out of here he can come back with the sleigh."

"When that happens we can get our weapons," Dean finished.

"Five minutes!" Jones yelled. "Then get back to work!"

"Let me handle this," Dean said, walking over to Tooth and taking her aside. "Make out with me," he whispered.

"What?!" she hissed.

"I mean it," Dean hissed back. "I can free your wings!"

"I-I can't," she stammered.

"No worries I'm sure Jack will understand once we save his life," Dean said, sitting her on his lap and pressing his hands into her back.

She put her forehead to his, and then very carefully gripped his throat. She stared him right in the eyes. "I'm not really going to kiss you. If you even touch me so much as one time so help I'll throw you overboard!" she hissed, and then, sucking in her lips, her put her mouth to his. Dean was very good at making a make out session look convincing, even if it was a fake one. He was also good at multitasking. Within two minutes, the lock on the band was picked, and he ditched the rusted nail he had been palming. Tooth pulled away, slapping his face. She winched. "Sorry," she whispered. "It need to look convincing,"

Dean held his reddening cheek. "Yeah," he said, stunned.

He walked back over to Sam and his brother raised both eyebrows at him. "You just made out with an immortal bird human hybrid…how was it?"

Dean shrugged. "Not enough skin in my opinion, but I'm starting to see why she turns Jack on."

"Dean, I just remembered that I was holding my duffel bag when Pitch kidnapped us," he whispered.  
"Good," Dean said.

"It has explosives in it,"

Dean turned to his brother. "Why?"

"I thought we might have had to totally decimate an urban legend in order to kill it," he commented passively."

Dean grinned. "Ok, I know what we need to do,"

Jack woke up in a snowy wasteland, a full blown blizzard raging around him. He blinked, gulping, surprised to feel that the cold was actually affecting him. He shuddered, trying to fly, but found that he couldn't. "Huh? Guys!" he called. "Are you there?"

"Jack!" Sam's voice called, and he saw him and Dean staggering over, Tooth in tow.

"Guys!" Jack yelled, running over. Their lips were already turning blue. He inhaled, gritting his teeth. "Hold on, I'll make a shelter!" he called over the wind. But the ice wouldn't corporate with him. He couldn't make a thing.

"_You ruin everything you touch Jack,"_

He remembered Pitch's words, and they stung. _"I can't keep them warm," _he thought, starting to breath heavily. _"I can't keep them warm! How can I help them? I have to do something!"_

Crowley watched him from inside the dungeon like room, staring into the portal to that led to Jack's illusion. He relaxed as he watched him struggle in a vain attempt to help his friend, panic taking hold of him. "I love movie night," he sighed, folding his hands.

*Scrubbed the side railing with North later on, night time starting to fall. He sighed, slapping the brush down and North glanced at him. "What is it?"

"How come you never showed up?" he asked. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through just too make Christmas happen for Sam every year!" he hissed.

North looked sadly down at him. "It's hard to do my work when one doesn't believe in me,"

"Don't give me that crap!" Dean said. "I may have never believed in you but Sam did, Sam held on to that hope into his adulthood!"

North rubbed the back of his head. "People always shove me into stereotype you see, either I deliver presents to you or I don't exist. Thing is, gifts are not the only thing I bring, they are actually one of fewer things I bring. Think about it! My workshop is enormous and full of wonder! But even I run out of supplies and time, and yes, I even make mistakes. But there is one thing I never fail to try to give to everybody Dean Winchester, and this is the spirit of Christmas! The happiness that comes even when you have barely enough to eat, and it is cold, you still become joyous! You still have the best day of your life!"

"Lots of people hate Christmas," Dean objected.

"Is that my fault?" North asked.

"Yea…! Uh…no, sort of…"

"Sort of?"

"Ok fine not at all!" Dean said, exasperated.

"Dean, you made your brother so happy on Christmas, and because of that, you were also so very happy. So tell me, what would have a bunch of presents changed?"

"It would have made it nicer," Dean said defensively.

"That's right, but it would not have made Christmas. I would have loved to bring you boys presents, but between the moving and the monster and you fa…" he stopped but Dean shook his head.

"Go ahead and ay it,"

North sighed sadly. "And your father's adamant refusal to celebrate the holiday, made it frightfully hard." He gripped Dean's shoulder with a meaty hand, he could see Dean was holding back tears. He was holding them very well and very subtly, but North could see these things. "One day, I will find a way to make a Christmas for you that you will never forget, and cherish forever." He grinned, and then, before Dean could protest, he grabbed him up into a huge bear hug. He gave a hearty laugh, which all too soon turned into a cry of anguish.

He dropped Dean, holing his back, Jones standing behind him with the whip. "I thought I saw somebody slacking off," he said, gabbing Santa's beard and yanking him down to look him in the eye. "Don't make promises you can't keep Mr. North. There will be no Christmases on my ship." He let go and walked past, taking a moment to lean over to Dean. "Christmas doesn't come for those who don't deserve it." He whispered, before heading back to his quarters.

Late that night, after an exhausting day of sweaty, painful work on the Dutchman, the new 'addition to the crew' laid down on either a soggy mattress or a worn hammock for the night. Bunny, who at first appeared to be sleeping, suddenly snapped his eyes open, sitting up. On his furry, padded feet, he crept silently across the floor. Any other would have caused it to creak and groan, but because he was a bunny, soft footed and light on his feet, not a sound was produced. He left the room, and no sooner did he do so, Tooth opened her eye, the ring slipping off her wings. She floated into the air, slipping out the window. She flew around above the ship, a handful of barnacles clutched in her fist. Taking aim, she threw one, sending it whizzing into the side of a crewman's head. There were only about two men on patrol, and a third steering. Bunny heard the yell, and crept by while the pirate was distracted. The pirate was reasonably sure it was the other pirate, but kept his mouth shut, if Davy Jones heard them fighting and disturbing his sleep, it would be another few years of service added. Bunny slid into the armory, looking around uneasily. He tapped his foot, sliding into one of his holes, popping up in a locked room with Sam's duffel bag. Grabbing it, he teleported himself up onto the crow's-nest. He guard didn't see mostly because Tooth had knocked him out. He handed her the bag, taking out two of Sam's bombs and his boomerangs. There were five grenades in total. He nodded to Tooth and she bobbed her head in turn, flying back into the window. Sam and Dean stood, grabbing it and fitting it through the small circle. Santa stood up, grabbing his swords from Tooth while the Winchesters pocketed their own weapons before very quietly laying back down, and passing a bomb to Tooth through the window every few minutes.

The next morning they were kicked awake and hauled up to report for duty. Jones watched them as they stepped into the sun. "You Guardians have only a year to serve," he said, causing them to pause their work. "The humans have the usual ten."

"We aren't going to let Pitch do this," Tooth growled.

"Speak only when directly spoken to woman!" Jones snapped back.

"Why should she?" Dean challenged. "This girl is more kick ass then you and you're whole crew."

There was a mutter around then deck and Jones glanced behind him, turning back to Dean. "Well then, I'm sure you all won't mind if _all_ of my men have a nice, good old fashioned pirate romp with Miss Tooth, as for you…" Dean was shoved onto the mast by the first mate, the shark like one. "You will be flogged, bare back, by my first mate. The only one better at doing than me!"

Dean grinned slightly as the crew converged on Tooth grabbing at her feathers. The other Guardians, of course, tried to intervene, but weren't having too much luck due to being out numbered. Dean pressed a button on a small remote and a loud bang sounded in the air, a section of the ship splintering, making a gaping hole. The ruckus settled and Dean straightened. "Pretty neat huh?"

"You think that little bang is going to save you?" Jones asked.

"No," Sam answered, causing Jones to spin around. "But four more might."

Jones squinted his yellow eyes, getting in his face. "Get to your point."

"We put five bombs around you're ship last night," Sam said. "Each at a place where a regular cannonball couldn't damage."

"You see somewhere on this ship you have your heart stashed, if it goes boom, you're dead." Dean concluded.

"I won't stay dead Winchester," Davy spat. "Your plan is worthless!"

"Yeah not really," he went on. "Because even if so much as one of your men has a drop of traitorous blood in him, he'll take over, and you'll lose the Dutchman."

Jones turned on his crew, and noticed that one of them had looked around at each other when Dean had said this, an indicator of the guilty. Only his first mate and briefly glanced over his shoulder when it had been said. He turned back to the captured group. "Name your price."

"Call off kraken," North said. "We jump overboard, you sail on."

Jones clicked his fingers, and a great rush of water was felt under the ship. They saw a large object swimming away, disappearing into the distance. He glanced at Tooth, seeing the band around her wings, and smirked. "If ye all jump off now, I won't call him back."

Tooth flicked off the band, flitting off the boat. "No problem,"

Jones's face fell slightly, not really sure how that had happened, and watched downhearted as the other's leapt off the boat. His first mate stood beside him. "You could always break your word captain," he muttered.

"They win for now," he turned on him. "But I guarantee this, they will come back, and they will do it on their freewill."

*Tooth was finally able to drag Dean and Sam to shore. Bunny had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, diving into one of his holes with North. They agreed that North would bring back the Impala, and meet the boys at the bunker to find a way to rescue Jack and Sandy. Dean, Sam and Tooth walked into the stronghold, and froze. The place was a mess, scratches on the walls, blood flex here and there, and every single mirror in the place was smashed. "What the hell! Kevin!" Dean called, running down. "Kevin are you ok?" Kevin suddenly appeared around the corner, dowsing him in holy water and salt. "Shit!" Dean hissed, surprised at the attack, looking up. "Are you done?" he asked and Kevin visibly relaxed.

"Yeah," he sighed, looking tired, a tiny bit of dried blood at the corner of his eyes. "Where the hell did you guys disappear too?"

"We took a one day cruse vacation on the flying Dutchman," Sam said, coming down to check on him.

Kevin swallowed, "Who's that?" he asked, pointing.

"The Tooth fairy, now enough questions, what the hell happened here?" Dean said.

Kevin sighed again, but this time there was a small smile. "Bloody Mary dropped by," he said, dusting off his hands. "She's stuffed inside a warding hand mirror now, and tossed under the stairwell of an old abandoned house that is used for historical tours."

"You put Mary's mirror around a bunch of tourists?" Dean said in disbelief. "Not even Mexico hates those guys that much."

"Relax," Kevin said, looking mighty proud of himself. "That old Victorian had been searched from top to bottom three times before it opened for tours. The stairs are roped off and the only way under the stairs is plastered closed. We pried open a board and slid her inside, nobody is going to find her and she won't be getting to any other mirrors."

Dean raised his eyebrows, and then frowned. "Wait, we?"

"Well, I didn't really do all of this alone," Kevin said with a shrug. "A friend was able to drop by and give me some help,"

Dean frowned, and then heard a very familiar voice speak behind him. "Hello Dean," he turned around, seeing none other than Castile standing behind him.

*North bustled into the bunker, a huge chest under one of his massive arms. "Car is on roadside," he grunted, tossing the chest onto the couch. "And here is first payment."

"Awesome," Sam breathed, opening the case. He frowned a little, and Dean looked over his shoulder, frowning as well, Cas looked over Dean's shoulder, staring blankly at the contents.

"These are quarters," Dean said, looking up. "You just brought be a million freaking quarters."

"Actually there are only two thousand, thing is…gold, might have been slight exaggeration. As it turns out, Patrick is not around, so Tooth was only one with cash."

Dean leaned back on the couch, "Two thousand quarters," he sighed. "Whatever, now, back to finding a way to save Jack's frozen little ass,"

"Not to mention Sandy," North said. "Pitch, surprisingly, hasn't been having a heyday with the world. Oddly enough he is applying some tact with his new freedom, yet the children either have a dreamless sleep, or nightmares."

"I can tunnel around in case they are underground," Bunny offered.

"They wouldn't be in hell," Sam mused. "They aren't dead, so they must be in one of Crowley's holding cells, he has a couple of favorites."

"Like the place where Samandriel was kept," Cas said, causing the others to glance at him. "Any place that is warded against angels holds the possibility of being the prison of your friends."

"If we use my globe to locate the only areas warded from angels then we can rescue Jack!" North declared. "Tooth can fly one third of world, I fly second, Bunny tunnels third, the moment we find him the all of us can break into save day!" he tossed Sam a snow globe. "Throw that on ground the moment we give signal, a portal will open for you." He marched back towards the door, "Let's go!"

Tooth was the first to fly out the door, heading off to start an early search. She didn't get far though. She felt herself get yanked out of the air, face to face with Crowley. "Hello deary," he said, his hand catching her throat. "I guess you're next," there was a slight cracking sound as his hand tightened, and then he snapped her head to one said. Grabbing the limb body by the wrist, Crowley casually opened a portal and walked inside.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Bunny hopped from tunnel to tunnel, breathing heavily. "Jack, Sandy, you guys better be ok or so help me I'll wallop you right across the head." He grunted. There were only so many places warded against angels, and with three Guardians looking, it would only be a few hours max before they found him. Unfortunately they did know that their three had been reduced to a two, and that Tooth was now in the same sort of spot Jack and Sandy were in. Bunny let out a surprised yell as he lost his footing, tripping over a form. "What?!" he half yelled. The only reason somebody would be able to get into his tunnel is if they had magic, and came there themselves. He hopped back a few paces, looking down. Patrick the Leprechaun was lying in the dirt on his side, trembling, and covered in burns. "Oh mate," Bunny breathed, propping him up. "What happened to you?"

Tooth's head rose, a small scream emanating from her mouth. She clamped her lips together, looking around. She strapped to a chair in a small dungeon like room, Crowley standing in the corner. "A few hours, that's how long it took you to wake up. Took Jack a lot longer. You must have more kiddies who believe in you."

Tooth inhaled slowly, her fists clenching. "Where are Jack and Sandy?" she said quietly, but with an undertone of ferocity.

Crowley snapped his fingers, a portal appearing of total blackness, the 'view' of the portal shifted, until it rested on the form of Sandy. The Guardian was trapped, spread eagle on an invisible ceiling, his eyes heavy. His eyes drooped, blinked, and then slid closed. An awful, ear splitting scream filled the black void, causing Sandman to jolt awake. He Sandy could speak he would have let out a sob of despair, his face showing obvious anguish. Crowley waved the portal away. "He doesn't do well without his sleep poor fellow,"

"Let him go!" Tooth yelled, fighting to straps that held her.

"Oh yeah, you asked about Jack too," Crowley mused, snapping his fingers again. This time the portal showed the frozen wasteland, and Tooth found herself falling silent, watching in horror. Dean and Sam where sitting against a stone wall, snuggled against each other's sides to keep warm. Jack was sitting in Sam's lap, Tooth, with Jack's hoodie pulled over her was being held close against his chest. The boy was breathing shallowly, shaking from head to toe. He gulped as he looked around Tooth's shoulder, and then jolted as he felt his arms sticking to her. He stood up and pulled away with a cry, seeing ugly frost bite patches forming on her cheek and shoulder from where he had been touching her. "No!" he gasped hoarsely, and turned in horror, seeing Sam's entire torso covered in frost bite as well. "No! No! No! No!" he cried, his voice breaking and sobs wrenching his body.  
"Stop it," Tooth whispered from outside.

"Guys!" Jack yelled. "Guys come on! Guys! Wake up! _Please!_" then he screamed, falling face first next to them, crawling over and trying to get them to open there eyes.

"_Stop it!_" Tooth yelled, rocking the seat.

Crowley snapped his fingers and the portal closed. "And now, for you little missy," he bent down in front of her. "I'm going to take each and every one of your some odd million baby teeth, and turn their little heads right around until they snap, right in front of you. Then, after I get a nice plush two or so layered carpet of them in here, I'm going to kill you again, and see how long you last this some. We'll start, with this one." He held out his hand, and a baby tooth appeared in his grip.

Two tears ran from Tooth's eyes. "Please don't do this, we want to take care of the children not mess around with hell!"

"Ah yes," Crowley said. "But what happens when suddenly hell is all about the little snot nosed brats of this world?"

Tooth's eyes widened. "Hell is coming after the children?"

"Hell is coming after everybody," Crowley corrected. "I just don't want any of you around when we actually get to the kiddy part." He shrugged. "Ah well," he reached around with his other hand, grabbing the baby tooth around the head.

"_No don't!_" Tooth shrieked.

Crowley had just begun to turn the tiny fairy's head, when a hole appeared in the wall and a boomerang smacked Crowley right in the head. He yelled loudly, holding his forehead as a furry paw reached out and snatched the baby tooth away. "You little bitch! You fucking whore, how did you do that?!" Crowley roared, and then stopped. Tooth was no longer strapped to the chair. She flew up, her feather's raising, exposing the smallest lines of razor sharp silver in their linings. He held up one finger. "Let's discuss this…" Tooth let out angry yell swooping in and punching Crowley repeatedly in the head and gut. Crowley was more surprised than hurt and the onslaught, but realized just how bad this fairy's punches hurt. "Ow!" he grunted, smacking her away, and then yelled again, seeing a long cut on his palm from where she had cut him. He looked up, "You do realize I light myself on fire for kicks, you're little attacks aren't doing much. Although I must admit, it's more than any human can hash out."

Tooth flew in again, but this time he caught her in an arm bar, putting the blade to her throat. Tooth grunted. "Let, them, go!"

"Or what?" Crowley asked. The boomerang hit him in the head again and he staggered back. This time Bunny actually came into the room, the Winchesters joining him. Tooth turned to Crowley, but he caught her fist, holding up the boomeranged he had snagged. "Ah, ah, aaah, not this time," he crooned, and then smacked her across the head with it. Grabbing her limp body by the head feathers, he tossed her into Bunny's arms. "She'll have one hell of a fairy egg now…get it, fairy, goose, they both have feathers?"

"Yeah I get it and it was a stretch," Dean snapped, twirling his knife. "Now give back Jack and Sandman!"

"Fine," Crowley sighed. "I got what I wanted anyway." He snapped his fingers and Sandy dropped out of the ceiling. He staggered on his feet, and then fell flat on his face. He snapped again and the icy portal appeared. Sam instantly ran for it, but hesitated when Crowley called to him. "Not so fast moose, your little chilly snuggle buddy is in my personal archer of Antarctica. Wait for him to come out, or you'll freeze. Besides, I want you to see what I've done with the kid."

Sam stepped back, seeing a figure approaching. "Jack?" he called, beginning to smile, but it faded quickly. The person that stepped out looked like Jack, only he looked 'frozen.' Ice hung in his hair, he actually looked cold, frost bite was etched across his bare chest and neck, he dragged his staff behind him limply, altogether looking like a corps that had been dug up from the snow. "Jack," Sam breathed, walking over "Are you ok…"

Sam was knocked away, his limbs freezing to the wall. "What?!" Dean managed to bark, right before it happened to him and Bunny as well.

Tooth and Sandy jolted awake as they felt the ice form around their arms and legs. "Jack?" Tooth murdered, and then shook herself. "Jack! What are you…? Jack stop!"

Jack flicked his staff, making a section of ice turn their heads to they were all looking at Crowley. Crowley glanced at them, then at Jack. "Well this isn't good…"

Lighting ice shot into the King of Hell and he gritted his teeth, resisting the pain. But eventually, the growl turned into a yell as he fell backwards, writhing to get away from the endless wave of ice and power.

Dean freed one of his arms with a grunt, and the lighting suddenly stopped. Jack turned to Dean, everybody else's heads turning to him as well. "Jack…" Sam breathed. "Jack don't do it, it's Dean! It's me, we're your friends"

"Jack listen to us!" Tooth begged as Jack raised his staff towards Dean. "Jack…"

Dean fired his handgun, the bullet breaking on Jack's frozen shoulder. The frost spirit glanced down at it, and then raised staff. Dean closed his eyes, cringing.

Just in the nick of him, North plowed through the wall, wrapping Jack into a bear hug. Hissing, Crowley pulled himself up, and then laughed. "That was new, and exciting." He rolled his neck. "So long boys, have fun with your new friend." He vanished.

Sam was able to rip himself down, helping the others and then running to North. Jack was struggling, shots of ice going here and there. North, tripped falling backwards out of the hole in the wall. They slid down a snowy slop. Coming to a rest, Jack shoved North away, and attempted to fly. Both Winchesters stopped him though, grabbing both of his arms and tackling him to the ground. Getting up, North sat on Jack's legs, keeping him pinned while Tooth flew in front of him, cupping hi face. "Jack! Come on I know you're in there! You have to come back to us! Please!"

Without them notching, Pitch appeared behind Tooth, studying the predicament, and then slowly reaching down, and sinking one finger into Jack's head.

Inside his mind, Jack looked up with a start, turning around, seeing the boogie man. "Pitch!" he yelled, running over and throwing a clumsy punch. "Were am I? What did you do with the others?"

"Oh shut up!" Pitch sneered, shoving him away. "You're in your mind."

Jack blinked. "Really? What am I doing here?"

"Talking to me, you are fighting your friends out there,"

Jack worked his jaw, turning away, "I'm not gonna hurt them,"

"But you're not going back to them, why?" he asked, persistent.

Jack whirled around, swinging one arm. "Because I'm a monster!"

Pitch stared at him in silence and then began laughing. Jack looked offended, glaring at him. "Sorry, sorry, but I think you're a little to goody goody for that title."

"What Crowley showed me in that illusion world, sure it was rigged, but it showed me the truth. I will never be able to hold anybody I care about close, not if it lasts more than a few seconds."

"Well being stupid is one thing but this is just crazy!" Pitch laughed again. "Has frost bite crept it's little way on to people you've hugged before?"

Jack looked up at him, his eyes tiered and sad. "I wouldn't know."

Pitch hesitated. "Jamie hugged you," he pointed out.

"Seven seconds, I counted," Jack countered.

"That Winchester practically snuggled you!"

"He had a coat on and a blanket wrapped around me!" Jack yelled, storming over and getting nose to nose with him. "Get it through your head Pitch! I spent three hundred _years_ without so much as a pat on the back! And now I find out anything more than a seven second hug and they're bitten! I may as well make them believe I'm a monster so I won't have to spend the rest of my life watching something I can never have!"

"Like what?!" Pitch blustered. "An extensive hug? Excessive pats on the back!"

"Physical affection!" Jack roared at him. "Why do think I showed off at every moment of my human years? To get attention! Why do think I do it now?! I had no father and a busy mother, the only one who would sit and be with me was my sister!"

"You realize this is just the irrational and yet honest part of your brain talking?" Pitch sighed. "It's the only reason you're telling me all of this." He clicked his tongue. "But, I figure, the rest of your mind is entitled to know what you are doing, and all the potential outcomes." He slid over behind him, gently placing an arm around him.

"What are you doing?" Jack said.

Without warning, Pitch brought his other hand around, sinking his fingers into Jack's head. There was no blood, just whips of darkness seeping around Pitch's fingertips. He leaned down as Jack stared wide eyed again of him, his mouth open and body tense. He touched his lips to his ear, whispering quietly. "Now, let's think about this Jack. You are about to blow away your friends, and escape to a land of such wintery ferocity that no one will be able to reach you." He smirked slightly. "What it will do the other Guardians. Tooth stops working in the field, Christmas and Easter just won't have their usual flare this year, and dreams will be mundane and dull for months to come." He gripped Jack's shoulder. "And Jamie, poor Jamie, not knowing where you went and why you abandoned him. Imagine how he would grow up because of that?"

"Jamie?" Jack breathed distractedly.

Pitch's eyes grew dull and he sneered slightly. "Oh wait, my mistake. He'll never give himself the chance,"

"No," Jack said, his eyes still staring ahead of him.

Pitch pulled Jack's hand up, forming it into the shape of a gun and putting it to his head. "Will he?" he leaned back down to his ear. "Bang!"

*"Jamie…!" Jack hollered, opening his eyes. He blinked, staring into Tooth's face. He slowly glanced behind his shoulder, seeing the Winchesters pinning his arms, and North sitting on his legs.

Dean met his gaze. "This isn't what it looks like," he said.

The ice from Jack's hair fell away, the frost bitten parts of his torso fading, and his eyes softening, losing the frozen corpse look. They quickly got off of him, pulling him up and checking him over, asking if he was ok. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Jack said, smiling a little.

"Here," North said, tossing him his hoodie. "You forgot this,"

Jack grinned and pulled it over his head, and then canted it slightly, squinting. "So uh…what happened?"

"Are you serious?" Sam asked. "You don't remember going ape shit on us?"

"Going what?" Jack asked.

"Crazy," Dead filled in. "You were going crazy. Ranting about how you were a monster and needed to prove it. Trying to fly away, blasting Crowley with ice lighting stuff and then almost doing the same thing to me, does that ring a bell?"

"You were stuck in Crowley's illusion," Sam finished. "We just got you out."

Jack slowly shook his head. "Nope, I don't remember any of that, I remember being caught by Crowley, then darkness, Pitch's voice, and then I woke up."

"So Pitch has a hand in this as well, I should have known," North breathed.

Jack turned to Tooth, carefully reaching up and brushing his cheek with one thumb. "You didn't happen to uh…?" he said, trailing off.

Tooth raised her eyebrows. "Yeah?"

Jack shrugged, looking up at her teasingly "Well when I woke up, it looked like you were about to try the curse breaking kiss."

"What?! Uh...no, I was just calling and trying to get you to wake up and uh…no, no not that. That would be uh…" she cleared her throat, rubbing her arm. "Really, really, ridiculous."

Jack bobbed his head, contemplating the point. "Yeah, I suppose so…but at least it would be a fun memory."

Tooth stared at him for a moment, and then she flew smack dab into him, holding his face and kissing his lips. Jack returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and swaying back and forth. North, Sam, and Dean all raised their eyebrows simultaneously. Bunnymund, carrying a sleeping Sandman, slid down the hill. "Ok…he's going to be fine, is Jack what the name of the outback…?" he said, staring dumbly at the spectacle. Jack and Tooth had lost their footing by this point, falling and sliding down a snow slope. Bunny's nose twitched and he turned to North. "I missed something."

North shrugged. "Yes, yes you did."

*Crowley appeared behind Pitch down in his layer. "What the bloody hell was that?!" he roared. "I didn't go three rounds with the Tooth fairy, have a bloody boomerang nail me in the head, and get blasted by ice lighting just so that you can blast my work to hell in five minutes!" Pitch turned to him, unimpressed. Crowley pointed a finger up at him. "Oh I get it…you're actually starting to care!"

"What?" Pitch said, snorting a laugh. "For your information I did it because you cheated again in making them afraid of you."

"No," Crowley corrected. "I did it to make Jack Frost a no longer existing member of the Guardians by driving him out of his skull, and the use my research to do it to the rest of them so I don't have to deal with their 'protect the children' crap when I actually start targeting the little snot nosed brats!" Pitch fell silent. "Face it Bitch! You care about him!"

"Now you're just being stupider," Pitch spat. "Jack happened to ruin me remember?"

"You know how he feels, you shared his frustration, you're like the Joker and Batman for God's sake!" he rolled his neck. "A huge dysfunctional pot of rivalry and dislike with a surplus of begrudging respect all topped off with a slosh of understanding, a dash of pity, a pinch of gay, and a side dish of 'I hope we can actually be friends one day.'" He raised his eyebrows. "Am I wrong?" Pitch stared at him darkly, turning away. Crowley sighed, walking away. "I figured, so long Bitch,"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

Jack hummed Chestnuts on an Open Fire to himself as he paced around the bunker, swinging his stick idly, making frost patters here and there along the walls and ceiling. Dean glanced up from the table he was seated at, looking at his zoned out face and dumb smile. Sam sat next to him, grabbing a handful of quarters and starting to put them in rolls. "What's up?" he asked and Dean shook his head.

"Three hundred years and he's still a horny teenager."

Sam frowned. "Dean he likes somebody, that doesn't make him horny. Horny is you at the club. Jack is genuinely in love with Tooth so don't go fitting him in one of your boxes ok?"

Dean looked at him, slightly shocked. "Was it something I said?" he asked and Sam took a deep breath.

"Sorry, it's just…"

Dean grabbed his arm with a smile, clapping his shoulder. "Forget it, your fond of the kid."

Sam sighed again. "He just makes having fun around here so much easier."

"Yeah," Dean agreed, shaking his head. "I just wish he would quit looking around like a love sick puppy."

Cas came into the room, frowning at the comment. "Love is not a sickness though, is it?"

Dean blinked, looking up at him. "Um uh…no, Cas. It's just an expression.

Cas slowly nodded, walking past and into the kitchen, Dean watching him as he went. Sam looked at his brother, and then cleared his throat loudly and stood. "Well, I'm going to watch something ironic on the tube, you?"

"Uh…" Dean snapped back to reality. "Yeah sure, you go ahead, I'll stay here. Still have to take care of North's payment."

"Enjoy," Sam said, slapping his back and walking off. He slipped on his way there, falling in a snow heap. "Jack!" he yelled, and yet another case ensued.

Jack was eventually caught, wrapped up, and secured tightly in Sam's long arms, who then proceeded to carry him around the bunker wherever he went. Jack, could only wait until he had to use the bathroom. "By the way," Dean said around a mouth full off food, the other's munching beside him. "What took the rabbit so long to get down that hill?"

Jack hummed, swallowing his food. "Aside from carrying Sandy, Bunny had stumbled on Patrick the Leprechaun while looking for me."

"And?" Dean said, leaning forward.

"He was huddled in one of his tunnels, looking for help, and covered in burns. Now Pat works with gold, so he has his own forge, but it looks he jumped into it, which doesn't make sense. Pat has worked with that forge for centuries, no accidents. Bunny was making sure he was stable."

Satisfied with the answer, they group finished up dinner and went about their regular activities. Jack was able to head out one last time, getting a late snowball fight in with some kids, and Sam and Dean began an early planning session as to how to deal with Crowley. Of course, being the King of hell and all, Crowley wasn't the easiest target to plot against. Sam left the room, coming back later with a couple of beers. They had migrated to Dean's room by this point and the older Winchester doing an inventory, hoping to find some new demon screwing device the Men of Letters had stashed away. He caught the beer Sam tossed to him and sighed greatly. "Well this is as annoying as hell," he said, rolling his neck. "I can't even begin to think of a logical way to bag this guy."

"Well we need to get him off of the Guardian's backs otherwise there will be a ton of issues," Sam answered.

"Like always," Dean countered with a grunt, shaking his head slightly as he sipped at the beer. "I never really realized how important these guys were until now. If they aren't there for the kids, then we'll just have more…" Dean almost said 'John Winchesters' running around, but swallowed the name. "More…dicks," he said, correcting himself. "more dicks growing up and running around."

Sam frowned slightly. "Dick was a Leviathan," Dean turned to him with a dull look. "Oh," Sam said, holding up a finger. "That kind of dick, sorry, I can't tell the difference anymore."

"Can't you tell by the context?" Dean said.

This time it was Sam who gave him the dirty look. "No Dean, because ever since we learned Romans first name you made it your personal business destroying any hope of recognizing context to dick references."

Dean snorted a small laugh. "Yeah that was pretty funny,"

Jack casually stepped up to the doorframe, tapping on the side. "Um…hey, Sam…Dean?"

"What is it Jack," Sam asked, turning and resting his elbows on his knees, giving the Guardian is undivided attention.

Jack shuffled his feet. "Well, Tooth's working tonight as usual but I was wondering if it would be a problem if…well you, if she dropped by sometime early morning? Let's say around um…four, and stayed through the night?" he finished hesitantly.

Dean raised his eyebrows at Sam. "I dunno, Sam, would you be ok if Jack had a girl stay over?" Sam opened his mouth, not really sure what to say. Dean grinned broadly, resting back on his bed. "You go ahead and have fun kid," he called to Jack.

Jack nodded gratefully, but turned to Sam anyway. "Sam?"

Sam shook his head, blinking. "Huh? Oh yeah, go ahead."

Jack smiled, his white teeth flashing. "Thanks guys!" he said excitedly, dashing off.

Dean sat up and draped one arm around Sam's shoulders. "You keep forgetting he's not just a kid."

Sam heaved a sigh. "Yeah,"

"Do my Winchester senses detect some older brother protectiveness vibrating from your current position?" Dean teased.

Sam stood up. "Good night Dean," he said, grinning slightly as he flicked off the light.

*Pitch stood in front of Davy Jones, his lips tight and eye stubborn. The captain was staring at him, his mouth slowly opening. "What?" he breathed.

"I'm calling it off, it's not worth it," Pitch said. "I've already talked to the others, even though they weren't really interested or in a position to be of much help now."

"Thanks to you," Jones reminded him, leering at him menacingly.

"Says the one who got himself duped."

"By the Tooth fairy, oh you must feel so honored in your defeat," Pitch spat mockingly.

"It wasn't that mere girl who tricked me. A woman could never pull off a pirates trick; much less have an idea of her own. It was the Winchester who had freed her."

Pitch leaned back, crossing his arms. "Wow, stuck in the 1600s I see, no matter, the point is it's not worth fighting them."

"I want those boys on my ship!" Jones yelled in his face. "Ten year to slow them down, ten years to unsure they never get to the sea with all of their hunting! That was the deal I made with you! You would help me if I helped you!"

"That's the point of a cancelation," Pitch chimed in. "Now if you will excuse me I need to find my way to Wyoming, I need to say goodbye to an old, almost friend."

Pitch rode off on his nightmare as Davy Jones boiled with rage. "Pitch Black," he hissed. "I'll be making the rules next time! Mark my words!"

*Cas meandered over to the coffee pot. He had seen how it woke Dean up in the morning, how it gave him energy, and generally improved his mood. He figured, despite being an angel, he would give it a try. He pulled out the whole pot, pouring some into a mug, and draining it. He blinked slightly. It wasn't bad, so he poured another. He walked about the bunker with the mug and pot in hand. "Good morning prophet," he said casually to Kevin, who was stumbling out of his closet.

He looked up at Cas, stared at the coffee, and then grumpily too the pot from him. Cas blinked, not sure whether he sympathized with Kevin's desire for coffee, or offended at having his coffee pot taking from him. Dean came out of his room, casually taking the mug from Cas's hands, muttering a 'thank you' and taking a swig as he passed. Cas frowned, but then figured that if Dean wanted his coffee he was more than welcome to have it. Dean walked up to the door to Jack's room, tapping on it. "Hey are you two decent? Breakfast is almost ready."

"I'm dressed," came the muted voice. "And Tooth doesn't wear anything anyway remember?"

Dean thought about that for a moment, and then he shrugged, opening the door. Jack was laying on his stomach, Tooth laying on his back with her arms under her head. Dean did a quick glance around the room and then back down at the two of them. "You coming to eat or what?"

"Well sleep is a rare treat," Jack mumbled. "So is eating, and I have been telling Tooth about your burgers."

Dean blinked, touched by Jack's words, "You've been…telling her?"

"Yeah, and she's really looking forward to having one, so I'll wake her up."

Dean blinked again, nodding his head. "Thank you Jack, I mean uh…I'll see you when you get out here."

As Dean left Jack shifted so he was on his back, sitting up against the backboard and propping Tooth up so the back of her head was on his shoulder. She stirred at the movement, her eyes cracking open. "Morning," Jack said.

Tooth smiled sleepily, nuzzling her head on his hoodie. "Hi," she sighed.

"Dean made his hamburgers," Jack said and her saw her perk up, he head rising.

"Really?!" she said excitedly, turning so that she was kneeling in front of him, her hands on her knees.

"Yep," Jack said, helping her up and stepping out with her. "You'll finally get to have one,"

Breakfast was good, they all sat around the table, almost like a family. A really dysfunctional, mixed, monster hunting family. Dean stepped over to Sam as they put away the dishes. He grunted slightly, glancing over both shoulders. "Well whatever happened last night it wasn't messy,"

Sam stopped what he was doing, squinting and glancing over at him. "What?"

Dean shot him a look, "Whatever happened between Jack and Tooth last night wasn't messy,"

"Why would you even bother to pay attention to that?" Sam countered and Dean shrugged.

"All cloths were on, the blankets weren't thrown everywhere and where were zero hickies or signs on a…"

Sam held up a hand. "Dean," he said, his 'annoyed little brother' tone coming out. "Why are you even discussing this with me?"

"Because I am confused as to how that works, with him unable to produce body heat and her covered head to toe in feathers."

Sam rubbed his brow. "It could have just been a really intense make out session Dean,"

"Yeah I get that but biologically how is that supposed to work?"

"This is worse than our discussion about the familiar! Use your imagination and figure it out for yourself."

Dean got a very grumpy look. "Well fine, I was just wondering whether or not anatomically it would be possible to conceive…" Sam let out a groan, storming out of the kitchen. Dean hastened the speed of his question "and if the result of that would be a mix of the two or even if it is possible at all considering they might not match up with each other's…" Sam burst out of the kitchen, "genitals?" Dean finished, just as the door closed.

Sam faced everybody in the living room, they had heard the last word of Dean's 'question' and where starring at Sam, curious, but not curious enough to ask. Sam inhaled. "I think we should all go outside,"

"Yes!" Jack declared, flying out of the bunker, while the others actually had to take to time to get dressed.

Tooth floated into the kitchen, grabbing up some of the dishes and starting to help Dean. "The others are going outside," she said, "Why don't you join them?"

"Gotta finish this first, besides you probably would have a good time playing with your boyfriend,"

Tooth gave a small laugh, blushing a little and turning her head. "I have centuries to be with Jack, you only have one if you're lucky."

Dean glanced up at her, frown a touch, and then glanced over at Sam, who was help Cas put on a snow cap. He shot Tooth one more glance and she smiled at him, nodding. "Thanks," he whispered, and set the plate he was cleaning down, jogging over to join the others.

*A snowball hit Sam in the back of his head, snow clinging to his thick hair. He turned, immediately hurling a snowball of his own back at Dean. Dean yelled a battle cry like call, grabbing Kevin up around the waste and tossing him into a snow bank. Jack, flying above the three of them laughed until his sides hurt. He had started the whole thing of course, and he was very glad he did, especially when he got to see Sam shove Dean's head into the snowman they had made. Jack swooped down, shoving the snowman and making it collapse on the two of them. Dean came up out of the snow, tossing a large chunk of the snowman into Castile. It broke over the angel's head, not even staggering him. Dean sighed. "Can you at least pretend you're not indestructible?" he called.

Cas blinked. "I have several weakness Dean. Snow is not one of them."

"This isn't about weakness," Dean said, packing another snowball. "It's about fun."

Jack took that opportunity to have a snowflake land on Cas's nose, invoking the desire to have fun inside of him.

He blinked, and then gave the barest of grins. Dean's snowball hit him in the chest and he looked down curiously. "This is fun," he said.

"Yeah," Sam breathed, attempting to catch his breath. "Now throw one back."

Cas looked up. "Are you sure," Jack frowned. Evidently getting an angel to have fun would take more than a snowflake. Using his arms, he scooped up an enormous snowball, walking right up to him, and raising it over his head. Cas stared him. "Do I try to dodge it?" he asked, right as Jack plowed it into him. The trick worked. Soon Cas was throwing snowballs like crazy, and with deadly accuracy too. It took the combined efforts of Sam and Dean to keep him at bay, both sides getting coated in snow. Just then Kevin, who had been seeking shelter behind the snow bank, came out and tackled Jack around the legs. Soon the Winchesters were on him as well, shoving snow down his hoodie and rubbing his face on the ground. They went on like this for over an hour, until they all found themselves lying on their backs, laughing, and freezing cold. Cas and Jack, being the two that where immune to the elements, helped the others inside.

"Surprise!" Tooth called happily, flying into the living room with cups of hot chocolate, passing them out. Dean, Sam, and Kevin all changed into dry cloths and eagerly took a mug. Cas also took one, just so that he could enjoy the drink with his friends. Jack politely declined the offer though, claiming the heat of the liquid didn't agree with his cold insides. So Tooth drank it instead as Dean boasted about how much better at snow fights he was, and Sam arguing that Cas had kicked his ass out there. Jack settled back into the couch.

There had been two things he wanted for Sam and Dean, one was to help the have fun, the second was to help them get to the end of their journey. _"One down,"_ he thought to himself. _"One to go,"_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Slender Man!" Pitch called irritably, turning a slow circle in the abandoned woods of Wyoming. "I believe I owe you some form of an apology." He heard a slight rustle and he turned, approaching the area. "Everything went to crap and now you're bound in this virtually nonexistent place. Normally I wouldn't care," he said, brushing past a branch. "But we bringers of fear need to remain in at least some form of friendship I suppose…" he stopped dead, seeing Slender Man impaled on the branch. "My god!" he said, rushing over and cutting the branch away with his scythe. "How on earth did this happen?! Was it the Winchesters?"

Slender Man pulled the wood out of his middle, his arms trembling. His hand shot up, grasping Pitch's head, his words forming in the Boogeyman's mind. _"It gridded against his mind that I also kidnapped children!"_

"What?" Pitch said.

"_And he hated that the Saint drove out snakes, and was praised, while he was cheated for driving away the rats!"_

"The Pied Piper," Pitch said.

"_His answer was yes Pitch Black. He hates them for protecting what he exploited! He's finding a way to kill them now."_

"Kill them?" Pitch turned, his eyes wide as he though back to what he had said to the Piper the day he called for his help. "No…" he breathed, running off franticly.

*"I'll be back!" Jack called as he flew out of the bunker, running along the tree tops. He grabbed a branch and swung down, snow falling around him. He sunk his bare toes into the frozen ground, enjoying the cool feeling. Two shrill notes of music played and his head twitched. Jack shook his head and blinked, turning a quick circle. "Hello?" he heard another note, and then another, and then a melody began to play. It was an upbeat folk dance song and Jack suddenly felt his feet going along with the movements. He was totally out of control. His hands clapped as he spun around and around, his feet leaving groves in the snow. He felt himself leap into the air, dancing across the countryside. He attempted to fight it but there was no stopping the music. Without warning the music cut off and Jack felt his feet slid across smooth ice, slowly coming to a stop. Breathing hard, he spread his arms to steady himself, still not entirely in control. He glanced upwards at the sound of soft footsteps, seeing the Pied Piper casually walking over, and leaning on a tree. "Piper," Jack said, squinting. "You know you could have just come to talk to me if you wanted a meeting. Thanks for the tip about Pitch's attack by the way." He motioned to himself. "Mind undoing the spell now?"

The Piper stared at him dully; beginning to play a haunting tune. Like Slender Man, the Piper's words appeared in Jack's mind. _"I never said no to Pitch. I gave you all that tip so that I would fade into obscurity, losing your suspicion. It gave me time to think, now I can give Pitch the results he wanted."_

Jack tried moving again, but his legs wouldn't budge. He started gritting his teeth, stressing them. Tooth, whose mind always had some part of it thinking about Jack's cuspeds, felt the grinding in her head. Last time this happed there had been an emergency, so she dropped everything, and took to the sky. Jack glanced upwards, seeing Tooth hiding behind a tree top, and turned to face the Piper. "As long as you play that I and anybody else you play for will fall under the spell right?" The Piper frowned, confirming the question. Tooth got the message, and flew away, heading towards the bunker. "Ok," Jack breathed. "So what are you going to do to me huh? Have _me_ dance to death?"

The Piper smirked smugly. _"I was thinking hopscotch."_

Jack blinked, and then looked around at where he was. It was the very lake he had drowned in three centuries ago. He looked back up franticly. "Wait," he breathed, looking around again. "Wait hold on Piper. You can't actually do this!"

"_You Guardians can all kill each other, but the moment enough children believe in you, you return. But this way, sending you back from where you came, will undoubtedly produce a different result Jack Frost."_

*Tooth flew into the bunker, shouting. "Jack's in trouble, we need your help right now!" Dean and Sam sat up from where they had been lounging on the couch.

"What's happened? Crowley?" Sam asked, but Tooth shook her head.

"No, it's the Pied Piper. He has Jack under his spell, what's worse is that he has him at the lake!"

"The lake?" Sam asked and Tooth explained hurriedly.

"The lake he drowned in after he saved his sister! The reason he was turned into a Guardian!"

Dean grabbed his gun. "Let's take him out."

"You will never get there in time!" Tooth cried. "The moment he see's you he will put you under control, you could end up killing each other and not come back the way we do!"

"Not come back?" Dean said with a slight laugh. "You don't know us very well. And what's the point of coming here if we can't help."

"You can help," Tooth said. "You know more about supernatural people than I do, you're second place to the Moon. How to we stop the Piper?"

"Earplugs," Sam said instantly, and Dean looked at him. "You read the story to me as a kid," Sam explained. "Three children couldn't follow the Piper, because one was deft, the other lame, and last blind, so they were spared."

"Thanks you," Tooth breathed, and flew out.

*"Piper please don't do this," Jack begged, almost crying as the ice cracked under him, the Piper making his feet add more and more pressure. "Pitch called it off, it's done!"

The Piper halted for a moment, twirling this flute once and playing again. _"I know…"_

"What?!" Jack gasped.

"_I am doing this out of my own interest Frost. You play with those kids every day, you don't ask for anything in return except some meaningless recognition. I starved to death thanks to those selfish adults! They don't deserve to have those kids!"_

"Neither do you!" Jack yelled at him. "They were kids! And you took advantage of them! You kidnapped them!" his eyes blazed. "You used to be an honest man but now you're just a vengeful, self serving maniac who is drowning in his own self pity!" The Piper's eyes flared and the heel of Jack's foot slammed on the ice, making it groan and creek. Jack waved his arms to keep his balance, his eyes fearful, but no longer pleading.

"Jack!" Tooth called, flying down, her feet tied together. He looked up at her with a smile, and then disappeared under the water as the ice broke. "_Jack!"_ she screamed, flying down. The Piper let out a shrill whistle, but was side tackled by a blindfolded Easter Bunny. Tooth struggled to pull the soaking Jack out of the water, hauling him up onto the ice. Her feathers were wet and her teeth chattering as she checked him over. Bunny could smell and hear the Piper, he couldn't use his boomerangs very well because of his sight impairment, but his feet and fists were holding quite well against the Piper. The Pier slid backwards after taking a kangaroo like kick to the stomach. North ran out of the woods, puffing slightly and looking at the scene. Seeing Jack, his eyes widened, gasping.

Bunny turned his head slightly. "How is he?" he asked.

Tooth was staring at Jack, watching in horror as the white of his hair slowly turned brown, a light pigment coming to his cheeks. There was no pulse, no breathing, and no movement. "Bunny!" she called desperately. "Something's wrong! He's not waking up! He's changing…Bunny…I think he's…"

"Don't say it!" Bunny yelled, and the grunted as the Piper ripped off his blindfold, playing a high note before putting the instrument to Bunny's neck, pulling back.

Feeling his airway getting cut off, Bunnymund struggled and reeled, trying to remove him. _"I'm going to crush it," _the Piper's voice hissed in his mind.

Suddenly the Piper heard a vicious roar. Looking up, he saw North charging him, looking positively berserk. He pulled away from Bunny, playing his flute franticly. Too late he realized that North had earplugs in and the giant of a man plowed into him. North drove the Piper back, ramming his fist into his ribs before straightening and slamming him into a tree. He began to punch his face over and over, his knuckles cracking into the bones of the Piper's jaw and cheeks. Fury built up inside North, his punches increasing in both rate and speed. "North!" Tooth called, but the man didn't hear her. "North stop!" An almost splatting noise was emitting from the Piper as his face was pulverized by North's fist and the back of his head knocking into the tree. "Stop it!" Tooth screamed and Bunny rushed over.

The Piper's head was now sagging as North hit, his fingers going limp and beginning to twitch. "Ease off mate!" Bunny called, grabbing his fist. The enraged Guardian pulled away from his paw. Bunny shoved his shoulder hard, making the man stagger. _"North!"_ he roared.

North staggered back, blinking. "What is it? What did I…?" he took out the earplugs, turning to look. The Piper, his face a bloody mess, was staring dully ahead of him. His body slowly fell foreword, his crushed face hitting the snow. North looked down at his shaking hands, shell shocked.

Pitch staggered onto the scene, coming to a stop. He stared at Jack, his breath catching. "Oh my god I am so sorry. I had no idea he was going to…" He said, swallowing as the other's turned on him. "What have done?" he blinked, looking at the Piper's form. "What have you done?" he asked.

"I…" North stammered.

"He's dead!" Pitch breathed.

"Piper will return," North said.

"No he won't!" Pitch yelled. "Neither of them are can't you see that! Piper found the one, the only way to kill a Guardian for good. And Piper isn't a Guardian! He won't come back even if people do believe in him! What's worse he's only a Myth! Not even a Legend! Urban Legends and Myth don't come back through simple belief! It's over!"

"Hold on a sec," Bunny said, walking over. "You said you were sorry. How is this your fault? I thought he was on our side!"

Pitch's mouth opened and closed, searching for the right words. "I…paid him to find a way to put you out of commission. The only scrap of money I had to my name was the quarter you gave me, but it was enough. I had no idea he was looking for a way to kill you, much less even take up my offer!" he shook his head. "I'm sorry…" Tooth looked back down at where Jack was resting in her lap, Bunny looked as if he was about to kill Pitch, Pitch looked like he was about to kill himself, and North, North just looked terrified as to what had just happened.

*Bunny and Tooth slowly carried Jack's limp body to the bunker. Upon opening the doors, both Sam and Dean knew something was wrong. They tried everything, referenced every book on a matter like this. Cas even tried to resurrect him, nothing worked. Dean found Sam with Jack wrapped up in a blanket, cradled in his arm, just like the way he had always carried him around. The body wasn't rotting, or smelling, or anything. It was just there, cold, and unchanging. Dean and Kevin continued to research while Sam kept a constant eye on the body, both eyes constantly filled with tears. Jack's death had hit Sam hard, this boy, this little frost elf had been his little brother, or the closest thing he had to it aside from Adam, and now he was gone.

North sat alone in a darkened office, hands on his face, unable to bring himself to confront his elves, his yetis, or even the Moon. Tooth attempted to go back to work, her fairies needing her direction. But the instructions were given in a strained voice, a constantly interrupted by sobs. Dreams were mediocre for the children of the world that night, as Sand could barely bring a happy thought to share with them; and Bunny sat in his valley, tossing his boomerang and catching it over and over in an endless daze.

Pitch stared up at the Moon, his eyes wide and wondering, wondering how this was somehow worse than loosing. This wasn't like Sandman. Pitch had always known there was a way to bring him back. This was different. He swallowed, shaking his head. "Why? Why is it that the only time my great plan worked was when I had called the whole thing off?" his lips tightened, and then he slowly walked back into his cavern, suddenly feeling very alone, and sick to his stomach.

*Up on a hillside, Crowley looked over a small town, checking his pocket watch. "It's about time plan B finished up," he rolled his neck. "Now I can get the other's out of the way, and that will be the end of that disaster waiting to happen." He grinned, pouring of bit of ill obtained blood from a vile into his hand. "This is Crowley King of hell. Gather the legion I assigned for the Guardian case. We finally have ourselves a war, and I looks like it's gonna be a slaughter." He flicked the blood away, his teeth bared in a wolfish grin. "And I'm going to enjoy it…so…much."

End of Part 1


	11. Part 2 Chapter 1

Part 2 – The Next Guardian

Chapter 1

"I want to personally thank you all for coming here today," Crowley said, pacing in front of a line of demons. "As you all very well know, we have four Guardians to deal with, and you are the ones to do it…any questions?"

"Yes sir," a demon said. "When you say Guardians you mean like Santa Clause right?"

"Correct,"

"Well Sir you are certainly being efficient sending an army of demons to handle a bunny and an old kiddies fairy tale."

Crowley stared at the man dully, inhaling with a squint and stepping a bit closer. "Let me make something clear. These Guardians can kick, you, _ass_! And they can do it without blinking an eye! Granted their spirit is broken right now, that's the reason we're striking. But don't you dare, I repeat, don't you _dare!_ Ever underestimate them!" he stepped back. "Look…last year one of our own closed seventy two deals with guess who? _Kids! _And what makes you all think that these Guardians won't make themselves a huge problem because of this?"

A demon rolled his tongue. "Because they'll be adults by then?"

"Do me a favor Shmidly and don't answer my rhetorical questions," Crowley snapped. "They are going to fight for these kids! The only way we are going to get more in the pit is if we invest in the children. The earlier one starts doing hellish things the better a soldier they make in the future. So if we want this to be easy and not have the Tooth fairy and the little bastard that puts sand under your eyelids to be a gigantic pain in the ass for us, we need to take them out now!" he relaxed a little, walking over to the group. "Any more questions…Shimdly?"

The demon gulped, and shrugged nervously. "Where are we headed?"

Crowley smiled, turning around and pointing across the horizon. "The North Pole."

*Pitch sat alone in his chamber, his back resting on the base of his globe. He stared up at the darkness of his ceiling. "What's the point?" he quietly murmured, looking away. He was talking to the Moon of course. "I'm a screw up," he sighed, thinking of what he had said to Jack. "He never actually made a mess of everything. I just couldn't stand being the only one who did." A small beam of light shone down into his cavern, resting on his chest. Pitch stared at it in astonishment for a moment and then snarled, swishing his hand through the moon beam and storming off. "Leave me alone! How can I believe I'm not a failure when I was _replaced!_ What am I? A rough draft that didn't work? Something that is now treated like it should have never existed? I, have, _purpose!_ And your striping it away!" The moon beam shone again, traveling along the floor before coming to rest on a large wardrobe. "What?" Pitch asked irritably, turning around. He frowned, and then took out his scythe. "That wasn't there before…what is this Moon?!" But the beam of light only shined brighter. Pitch gave an exasperated sigh and strode over, opening it up. Utter darkness met him. A darkness that was deeper than his own. He quietly stepped inside. Instantly he could hear his breathing rattling inside of his head as if a great beast was panting into his ear. "Hello?" he quietly spoke, but the noise that echoed around the room was that similar to a thunder clap. He hissed, another big mistake, and clapped his hands over his ear, pinching his mouth closed. _"What is this place?" _he thought. His eyes were adjusting better, but he could still barely see. This annoyed him, considering he was used to having perfect night vision. Suddenly he fell over a fallen from, his hands slapping the ground with a deafening slam. He winced, pulling himself up and feeling the ground. It was a body, cold and dead that had tripped him. Suppressing a grunt he hauled the form up and dragged it back towards the light of his cavern….the light of his cavern, how ironic. He slid the body out of the double doors, letting it flop to the ground and closing the wardrobe behind him. But when he turned around, he saw who the body was. It was Jack! His form was motionless but, unlike the last time he had seen him, his hair was white, and his skin pale. Pitch's face twitched and he knelt down, checking his pulse. "Jack?" he whispered. He shook him, but there was no reviving him. He straightened, seeing that Jack was as dead as the day he had fallen into the lake a second him. His face hardened momentarily, but then he looked up at the Moon, a small smile appearing on his face. "What is this that you have plopped in front of me my old friend."

*North sat in a darkened office. Then only light that shown in the room came from the windows. The yetis worked quietly outside, disturbed by their friend's troubled manner. Flashbacks of how he had split the Piper's skull popped in and out of his mind and he gripped the sides of his head, sighing. He looked up and out of the window where to Moon was barely visible in the daylight. "I am Guardian. But how can I call myself a worthy protector of children when I have killed a man?" he leaned back in his chair, staring at his one sword. He grabbed the handle, but let it slip away. "I…I am not fit. I am no good to be around children." He sighed, standing up and walking to the door. "This will be my last Christmas. Unless of course you can't find another man to deliver my gifts." He stopped, glancing back over his shoulder. "And you better." He walked up a spiral set of stairs and up onto a platform so he could address his friends. "Elves, yetis…my friends." The bustle of activity died away as the creatures turned to look at him. "You are all doing so well, I am so proud of you but…" his voice caught. "I have failed you, and I am sorry. After this year, I will be retiring. In light of this, I need you all to…to…" his voice trailed off as he stared out the window, his eyes narrowing, and then widening. "Get out, all of you! Flee to the villages!" The yeti all looked at each other, grunting and calling with surprise. "We are under attack!" North called, and instantly the yetis were rushing for their weapons, but North called for them to halt. "No! _No_! I will not lose any of you! Take the elves and don't let them find you, we retaliate later. For now I talk to them, now go!"

Outside, the demons under Crowley's orders where rushing the factory silently. Creeping into the base of it and working their way up. Crowley shoved his way to the front of his army, slamming open the doors and walking in alone. An empty factory faced them, only North stood in the room, hands at his sides. "Hello Santy Claws." Crowley said, striding him. "How's Christmas coming?" North remained silent. Crowley licked his lips. "How about your elves I hear they do most of the work."

"They are safe." North said grimly.

"Oh really?" Crowley sighed, standing right in front of them. "And uh…where, might they be?" Again North said nothing. He king nodded. "I see… then what about all of this? No fight? No great defense strategy?"

"Just me," North answered.

"Well that's disappointing," Crowley sighed again. "It makes this part way less satisfying." He snapped his fingers and all of his men jumped down and flooded out from around the corners, all of them in the meat suit of a teenager, or a young child.

North's eyes widened. "What have you done!" he thundered, right before the butt of Crowley's angel blade smacked him across the face. The Guardian staggered, slumping on a table.

"Swords are great, unless you don't want to kill somebody that is." He put an arm around him and got face to face with him. "You and your merry little friends can't fight this army because you can't hurt kids. And you're not going to get the Winchesters help either, because they'll gank these kids. And they'll gank them as quickly as they would cut off a vampire's head." He straightened. "This is our base because we," he pointed over his shoulder. "Really like your globe. We are going to us it for a bit, lets us know where we need to close our next deal."

North shot up with a roar but the handle of his blade cracked into his head again, blood oozing from a cut on his forehead. "You're mad! You can't do this!"

"Actually…" Crowley said in a corrected tone. "I can, believe the cliché or not."

"It's not all the children," North panted. "Just the ones who believe in us."

"What makes you weaker kills you eventually," Crowley said. " We make these brats believe in us, we get em, you lose em, we kill you so you are no longer blocking up hell's affairs."

"We never were," North argued.

"You were congesting traffic!" Crowley roared. "You realize how hard it is to close a deal with a kid that believes in you lot? We're forced to work with the desperate when we could have all of them!" He paused, and then slapped North's head down onto the table. "So in the mean time you can tell me where your little pointy eared friends are."

"They have nothing to do with this," North breathed.

"No," Crowley consented. "But they are a loose end…so." The handle cracked across North's face, sending him to the floor. "Spill…the beans." North quietly shook his head, looking away. Crowley sighed greatly. "Fine…first you don't even fight back, but now you decide to be stubborn?" he felt a jerk in his chest and grunted, gripping it with his free hand. He turned to his men. "Shmidly, you and a couple of the guy rough him up. I get the feeling I'm going on a trip." No sooner was this said when the king vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shmidly stepped over to North a grin on his face as he grabbed a fire poker. He was in the vessel of a teenage girl. "Well, then Santa, aren't you going to ask me to sit in your lap."

North glared up at him. "Don't dirty her mouth with your words demon." He spat. The fire poker swung across his head.

*Crowley appeared on a deserted dock. Evidently he had changed time zones because it was night here. In front of him was Davy Jones, standing in a wooden bucket of water. "Well," he crooned, dusting off his suit. "This is an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you Mr. Jones?"

The undersea Captain tossed aside the bowl he had used to summon the demon, putting his hands behind his back. "I want in."

Crowley gave a little laugh. "Right…goodbye."

"Hear me," Jones said gravely. "Half my crew, to you. In exchange I bring you valuable information and you let me help you kill the Guardians."

Crowley squinted, stretching the corner of his mouth to the side. "Why?"

"They cheated me, and if I have you on my side I can control the lakes."

"The lakes?"

"The Grim Reaper harvests the souls from the waters that are not of the sea. I want that changed. Settling my personal vendetta with the Guardians will let me enslave the ones I vanquish. Grim wont like that, considering it's him who brings them back when the children believe. This job will be compromised because I have something that he needs to return to the living. I will surrender them to him for the price that I take the souls of anyone who drowns in a lake my ship can fit in."

Crowley rubbed his chin. "Hmmmm, boring, and a lot of bla, bla, bla. So here's the deal. You're in. Just don't ever try to explain your motives to anybody every again and you can do whatever."

Jones smiled. "Thank ye,"

"You over there!" An old fisherman hollered from another dock. The two beings of the supernatural turned, Jones with a withering glare, and Crowley with his eyebrows up in amusement. "I saw you performing witchcraft! The demon before you will not be able to help you young man!"

"Young man?" Jones asked, letting the moon fall over his face, revealing his true features. "I am not a man, and this demon certainly isn't alone in his kind."

The old man stared in horror. "My god! Davy Jones! I knew it! I knew you existed you devil! Now all the world can know of your villainy!"

Crowley turned to Jones, jerking a thumbing over his shoulder. "Any chance you can get rid of that guy."

"Already done," Jones murmured, as one, gigantic tentacle of the kraken rose out of the water, snatching the fisherman into the air, and screaming down into the water. With a sigh he turned back to the king of hell. "Expect your souls the moment the Guardians are defeated, I'll be in the deep should you ever need my assistance…Good day Mr. Crowley."

"Please," Crowley said with a smile. "Just call me 'your majesty.'"


	12. Part 2 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dean opened the door to the morgue, yes the bunker even had one of those, and leaned on the door frame. Sam sat alone on a chair, in front of an open drawer, Jack's lifeless form residing inside. "Sam,"

"Hmm?"

"We have a case."

There was silence, and then Sam turned his slightly cocked head away. "You go ahead, I'll stay here unless you really think you'll need the back up."

Dean spread his arms. "And what will you be doing? Hanging out here the whole time? It's been a week Sammy and you're killing yourself!"

"I'm trying to find a way to bring him back!" Sam called over his shoulder, his eyes misty.

"And starring at his corps is doing what? Sam…" he came over and stood beside him, gripping his shoulder. "Sam he…he may just be gone ok?"

"Dean…" Sam said quietly, his voice tight and intense.

"What I mean is, don't fight it. We've seen this before, one of these days he might just pop back up."

"But we don't know that," Sam said.

Dean licked his lips. "I know," he bent down so he was looking him in the eye. "But here's what I do know. This is no good for you, and other people are in trouble. So we have to go." Sam met his eyes for a minute and then slowly exhaled and stood up, letting his fingers drag through Jack's brown hair as he walked away. Dean watched him go, and then glanced down at Jack, the body still as fresh as the day its soul had left it. He bit his lips, waving one finger at it. "Don't you let him down you hear?" with that he followed Sam, stepping out and heading up into the living room.

Just as they walked inside, Cas rounded the corner, as usual looking like an apprehensive deer in headlights. "Dean," he said.

The older Winchester halted for a moment. "Hey Cas, what's up?"

"I am going to heaven," he said cautiously, glancing at Sam. "I will try to convince my superiors to resurrect Jack, if he's there."

Sam held up a hand. "I appreciate that Cas but what do you mean by 'if he's there,' where else would he be?"

"Well," Cas said uncertainly. "Crowley may have pulled something."

"Like what he did with Bobby," Dean said, looking concerned.

"Or he could have gone to purgatory," Cas finished. "In any event I hope to locate him and possibly bring him back."

Sam nodded. "Thank you Cas," he said and then stepped over and cautiously reached out to give him a hug. Cas starred at him, now looking like an awkward deer in headlights. Sam lowered his arm and, for the first time in a week, exhaled in the form of a quiet laugh, lowering and shaking his head once. "Thank you Cas," he said again, just the barest hint of smile on his lips before sliding past and heading to the door.

"Hey Cas," Dean said as he too headed for the door and the angel turned to face him. Dean smiled. "I appreciate what you're doing, it means a lot."

"I am only doing what is right," Cas said and Dean laughed.

"Yeah I bet you are," he clapped his arms. "Keep it up. I'll see you when I get back."

"I will be here," Cas called quietly after him as he walked out the door.

*Dean had gotten the Impala fixed up not long after Jack had died. He needed something to distract him and fixing up his baby was the best way about it. Now the two Winchesters drove on the highway, heading for the shoreline. Sam was silent for the first hour of the drive, but then finally spoke up. "So what do we have?"

Dean could have sighed with relief, but stuffed it and passed him a folder. "Satanic drawing found on local dock, old fisherman vanishes. Claw and drag marks on the dock he had been doing some late night fishing on."

Sam frowned at the folders pictures. "I've seen this before."

"The old guy?"

"No the markings, they're really familiar."

"Can you put a finger on it?"

Sam shook his head. "Not really, but I get the feeling I'll know once I get a look at it in person."

The Impala was parked and the two men, disguised in their FBI attire, strode onto the docks. Only a few scattered officers were there. Since there was no blood or bodies anywhere this was a pretty boring scene. They overheard some of the men chatting with each other, muttering how hard it would be to find the old coots body now that it was in the ocean. Flipping open their badges the two ducked under the tape and observed the markings. Instantly Sam inhaled. "Got it," he breathed.

"Yeah me too," Dean confirmed. "It's the same mumbo-jumbo we used to summon Crowley. You think the old man was looking for a deal?"

Sam shook his head. "Can't be, he's dead. If he had made a deal, we would be rich by now. Somebody else did this."

After examining the drag marks on the dock it was evident that the man had been dragged sideways and then up into the air. Other than that there was nothing more to see. After looking for some witnesses and comments about last night they turned in for lunch. The interviews had not been all that helpful. Another fisherman had noticed unnaturally churning waters, but aside from that there was nothing else to be heard. They found a local diner and sat at a table in the corner and Dean turned his attention to Sam after ordering a club sandwich. The younger Winchester was gazing out the window, watching as an icicle slowly dripped tiny water droplets onto the sill. Dean thought for a minute and then grunted, reaching into his pocket. "Sam," he said, getting his brother's attention. "I want you to have something."

Sam squinted, now interested and shifted so he was facing Dean better. Dean produced a fist sized snow glob his coat pocket and set it on the table. "What…?" Sam began but Dean interrupted.

"It's Jack's globe, the one North had him use so he could keep him in check. It will let us teleport to the Guardians."

Sam reached out and carefully took it, smiling sadly. "Thanks Dean. You know, North has been distant since the accident."

"They all have," Dean scoffed. "I can't really hold in against them. All our baby teeth are gone, Christmas isn't for a while, Easter even more so, and we aren't exactly easy clients for the Sandman."

"We just need to give them time to adjust Dean," Sam reminded him. "They're at loss more than we are." That last part came out a lot quieter and less sincere than the first part, and Sam broke eye contact with him, putting the globe in his pocket. "So let's go see North after this, it'll do us good I guess."

Dean thanked the waitress as she brought him his sandwich. "Sure," he said, biting into it. "We can have cookies for dessert that way."

"And Crowley?"

"We'll head back to the docks for one more look and then see if anything else happens. If we run into Crowley we'll ask him about it nicely…with a knife."

Sam gave a small laugh, picked at his food a little, and then left it alone. Dean ate all of his meal of course, no leftovers there. They paid and then slid into a side alleyway, Sam taking out the globe. "Ok…" he breathed, gazing into it. "North Pole," he said, and then lightly tossed it onto the ground. The swirling porthole appeared and Sam stepped through without hesitation. Dean wasn't far behind and the two appeared in the main room near the back. The room was dark and seemingly empty and Sam frowned, scanning the area. His eyes widened slightly, "Dean!" he hissed, dragging him back into the shadows.

Looking up and around Dean saw angel ward slathered over the windows and walls, possessed children patrolling the halls, and no sign of the yetis or elves, much less North. "Aw shit…" Dean groaned, "Come on, and keep your head down." With the demon knife up and ready, the Winchesters snuck through the darkened hallways, making their way to North's office. Having Sam keep him covered, Dean put his eye to the key hole, looking in.

Crowley was sitting in North's chair, his feet propped up on his desk, an ice sculpture shattered on the ground. "I really love this place, I really do."

"You certainly did well Sir, too bad we didn't get to fight," Shmidly commented.

"Yeah well…" Crowley said with a shrug. "I take it you couldn't get anything out of the bowl full of jelly."

"He's stubborn."

"Well I guess so, considering I haven't gotten one bloody piece of information from him!" Crowley huffed. "Go grab a handful of those toys and toss em in the fireplace, it's getting cold in here."

"Right away Sir," Shmidly turned to the door and Dean and Sam had to press themselves to the wall to keep from being discovered.

Waiting until the demon had left the two quietly made their way down stairs, finding the kitchen. Chained to oven was North. He was slumped over, his head and face beaten, and his white beard stained with blood. "North," Sam whispered, rushing over.

The old man looked up at them, his eyes tired and sad. "Sam," he said weakly. "They have children vessels, you can't kill them."

Dean was about to rebuff that statement, but decided to swallow it instead. "How did they do this? It looks and sounds like you didn't even fight."

North turned away from him, closing his eyes. "I had my men flee, I surrendered."

"Well that sucks," Dean snorted. 'I thought you all were warriors,"

"Dean not now," Sam said, trying to undo the chains.

"I am sorry Dean Winchester," North sighed. "But after the Piper…"

"That bastard deserved to go down," Sam grumbled as he worked.

"But not by my hand," North said desperately. "How can I claim to be worthy to care for the children when I am a murderer?!"

"You have swords and maces and spears and you've never killed anyone? What did you do? Show them off or only cut down specters?" Dean asked.

North opened his mouth, and then closed it, grabbing Sam's hand. "Listen!" he hissed, changing the subject. "You must destroy the globe. They intend to use it to trick our children into selling their souls."

"Direct targets," Dean said, looking up and over at where the huge globe loomed above them. "Can we shut it down?"

"We must shut it down and remove it," North grunted, standing up, even though the chains forced him to hunch over. "You have globe?"

"It we used it up. It was Jack's last one."

North rubbed his head, and the gasped, looking up, sitting down and pretending to be asleep. Taking the hint, the Winchesters slid into corners, hiding. As the guard past North whispered quietly. "Go into the tunnels, there are not as many guards there. Slide down the tunnels, be sure to take a sled or you will not survive. Oh and boys…"  
"Yeah?" they asked at simultaneously.

"Hold on tight when you do. When you find village with warm basements and crawl spaces you will find elves, yeti's hidden in mountains. They will give you globe. Get Bunny, have him swallow globe with one of his holes."

"And you?" Sam asked him.

"Do not rescue me no matter what you do," North said gravely.

"Any reason outside of self pity?" Dean asked.

"When that globe vanishes chaos will ensue. I am chained, you won't be here, and you won't be able to break into here again."

"Do you plan on escaping?" Sam asked him.

North shifted so he was leaning on the oven door. "…No. Now no more questions. Shmidly is coming soon, now…" he pulled up a grid. "Get in there and head to the tunnels, you will find sled nearby." Looking exasperated Dean walked towards the grid but North seized his arm. "Winchesters…hear this and do not dare forget. Do, not, kill, any of these children."

Dean met his eyes, North's eyes held no room for argument. For once they looked fierce and dangerous. He swallowed once, and then nodded. "Yes Sir."

North nodded gravely. "Good, now go, go!" Unable to resist his urging, Dean and Sam where shoved bellow the floors and soon found themselves crawling under the patrolling guards. North looked up as Shmidly and Crowley entered the room. "Well Mr. North I hear you're giving my men a hard time." He knelt in front of him. "Let's talk about that. Oh! And let's talk about how you helped take out a slew of rough Legends but weren't even prepared for a fight when we got here? What's with that hmm?" he smacked the fire poker across his face. "Are you faking us out?" '_Smack!' _"Are your swords only certified to kill sandy nightmares?" _'Smack!' _"And what about the globe, for some reason or another were having a hard time reading it. My boys keep having 'household accidents,' work has been slowed to a crawl!" He kicked him hard in the stomach. "Why are you making so hard when you just gave up in the first place?!" he yanked on his beard so he was looking at him. "You can't make up your mind as to who you are…can't you?" he straightened. "Well make up your mind about this. If you don't start spilling the beans in twenty four hours I starting killing these meat suits."

That got North's attention. He swallowed. "You promise?"

"I'm a man of my word."

North worked his jaw. "Let me think about it."

"Take all the time you need," Crowley said in a half singing voice. "Within twenty four hours that is."


	13. Part 2 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Man," Dean grunted as he pulled himself out of the vents. "If took every creep I killed as bad as he does I'd be dead."

"He's a lot different than you Dean," Sam said, pushing himself out as well.

"Yeah well he still gave up the Pole, and now where fixing his mess."

Sam sighed, unwilling to argue and stepped up to a slopping ice tunnel. It looked fairly placid, no stalagmites, no loops, just a slope. "Ok then," he grabbed an old fashioned looking sled from a shelf, right where Santa had said they would be. Dean grabbed one as well. "It's lovely weather for a sled ride together with you," Sam teased.

"Funny," Dean grunted.

"At the word 'fun' the smile faded from Sam's face and he turned away. "Let's go."

They sat down on the wood of the sled and let themselves slide down the tube. The ice swished past them as the tunnel slowly arched down. They got a little speed, but nothing tremendous. "Not bad," Dean called.

"Yeah," Sam called back.

The tunnel opened to the outside, rocketing them down a ridiculously steep hillside. Long yells of surprise and almost fear weld up and out of the Winchesters as they began doing down a sled path like no other. It was a good thing those sleds where specially made by North. Telling them to hold on tight had been a silly warning; the boys would have done that no matter what the old elf had said. Wind and snow pummeled their faces as they sped down the cliff at break neck speed and Dean turned to face his brother, hollering over the rushing wind. "I hate him!" he yelled. "I'll kill him for this!"

"I-I-I don't know whether this is fun or not!" Sam stammered.

"It's not fun! It's not fun! I want you to know right now that this is not fun!" Dean hollered back.

The two sleds shot off a snow embankment hurdling them into a sea of snow with a plop. Dizzy and breathless, the two freezing cold men were hauled out of the snow by a strong furry arm. The yetis grunted and mumbled as they loaded them over a reindeer, leading them off into the distance where a quiet village stood. Quiet was an understatement, it was practically abandoned. The two yetis carrying Dean and Sam pushed open a rotted door, filing in and plopping them onto a shag carpet. Dean looked up at them shivering. "Hi," he gasped, right as the yeti on the right slammed his fist into the wall. The floor opened underneath them, dropping them into a tube of warm water. Instantly large yeti paws were stripping them of their frozen cloths and scrubbing them down. Ten minutes later the two sat in fluffy red bathrobes, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands, and elves presenting them cookies. Dean and Sam blinked hard, just now registering everything that had happened. "Whoa," Dean breathed.

"Yeah," agreed Sam, looking up to Phil, who stood in front of them. "Do you…have some snow globes we could barrow?"

*Tooth quietly directed her fairies to the different states and regions of the world, lacking her usual energy. She sniffed, rubbing one feathery arm across her nose, and looking up as Baby Tooth began chirping shrilly, pointing to the west. "What is it?" she asked, floating over. Pitch rose up on a black cloud, landing on the edge of the tower. Tooth gasped and then charged him, her teeth bared and eyes set. "What are you doing here!?" he demanded, drawing back a fist.

Pitch held up his hands. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Just hold on! Whoa! Listen!" he yelled, backing away from her attacking and dodging a swarm of fairies. "I just want to talk to you!" Tooth hesitated, and then turned away, beginning to direct her fairies again. Pitch worked his jaw. "I know you don't have anything to say to me but I just have a few questions."

"Molar knock out in Tennessee, canine in Tokyo apartment 5, another toaster went down the stairs in the Philippines, get on it girls!"

"I'll take that as a go ahead," Pitch said. "Number one do the Winchesters still have Jack?" With an angry half yell half grunt Tooth hurled a clipboard at him, the wood smacking off his forehead. "Jeez leweez!" he yelled, cupping his head and pacing slightly as Tooth got back to work. "I asked because I can't find them because of their stupid wards! Do they have him still or not?"

"School yard fight America, persistent wiggler in China,"

"Just answer me!" Pitch yelled, but Tooth ignored him. His lip curled. "Fine…how's the North Pole in that case?"

Tooth hesitated, turning around slowly and floating over. "What do you mean by – how's the North Pole?"

Pitch shrugged. "Oh nothing, I just got to give North a nightmare last night that's all." Tooth's fists clenched but Pitch held up a hand. "Look a while ago Crowley came to me looking for help."

"You sold him out!" Tooth shrieked.

"No! No! _No_!" Pitch yelled, stomping his foot. "I denied him because he's a cheat. But evidently he had a backup plan and now he's taken over the North Pole."

Tooth gasped, floating back a little. "You're lying, North would have called us."

"After what happened I'm not too sure, it looks like he just surrendered."

"Then why would you tell me this?" Tooth asked him suspiciously. "This looks like something you would work to your advantage? Or it's a trap."

Pitch glared at her. "Look I didn't want Jack to die! Now at least let me give you a bit of help to show I'm not all bad!"

"Not all bad!" Tooth gasped in an exasperated tone. "You're the Boogyman! The Nightmare King!"

"I am a bringer of fear!" Pitch yelled, starring her down. "When I actually had a job I was the one who kept wild animals from tearing everybody apart. I kept people…_safe!_" he finished with a yell.

Tooth locked eyes with him, and then pointed. "Get out of here, I'll check this out once your gone."

"Certainly," Pitch crooned.

"And Pitch," she squinted at him. "Now that you've mentioned the whole thing with Crowley, is there anything else you would like to mention?"

Pitch thought about the wardrobe, and the second Jack he had found. He smirked. "Not at all," he answered, and then vanished into the floor.

Tooth waited a minute, and then flew off and into a tunnel. She swooped down into Bunny's layer, calling for him. "Bunny! Are you in?"

He hopped up. "What is it?"

"I think North's in trouble; we need to check it out right away!"

"How so?" Bunny asked, grabbing his boomerang.

"Pitch told me," She explained. Bunny snorted. "I know I know!" Tooth added hurriedly. "But we can't risk it."

A porthole swirled to life, Dean and Sam popping out. "We need to sink a globe!" Dean called right away.

"Crowley has taken over the Pole," Sam added quickly. "We need Bunny to sink the globe into here so that the demons can't find the kids that believe in you and ruin their lives!"

"Let's move!" Bunny called, knowing an explanation could come later.

Dean turned to Tooth. "I don't know why you're here, but it's a good thing you are. North doesn't intend to escape, so me, Sam, you, and Sandy are all gonna get him out."

"If we do it the moment Bunny sinks the globe we might just be able to pull it off," Sam said, breathing heavily.

"Roger!" Tooth said, flying away but turning back momentarily. "By the way guys, nice robes."

Dean looked down at the candy cane red garb he was in, a holly on his and a mistletoe on Sam'" Huh," Sam chuckled. "I better make sure I don't stand next to you can Cas,"

As they left, Pitch watched them carefully, smiled, and then began to follow them from the shadows.

*North sighed as he leaned on the over, sweat pouring down his face. Shmidly had left the oven on high to increase his discomfort. _"I thought you were a warrior are your swords only licensed to kill_ _specters any reason outside of self pity?" _the thoughts all ran through North's head in one long stream on ridicule. Flashes of what he had done bashing his mind this way and that. Until suddenly an unexpected image flashed in his mind, and image of a roaring bear. He blinked, his eyes widening. The bear, controlled by Pitch reared on its hind legs, roaring ferociously. It had been centuries ago, when Pitch was madder than he had ever been, and willing to kill because of it. He had taken control of the vicious animal, and North remembered slaying it! _"Times have changed Pitch, times have changed Pitch."_ How many times had he said that, and now, he realized he had not only ignored his own words, but forgotten who was. "I am a warrior," he whispered. He stood up. "I am a warrior!" His eyes widened and his teeth shown. "I, am, a _warrior…..!"_ he yelled loudly, drawing out the last word. There was a thud, and then suddenly the globe jolted, and began sinking into the ground. North hopped up onto the oven, grabbing up a large meat knife. "And times have changed!" he declared, ripping the handle off the oven and charging up the stairs.

Crowley burst out of his office, starring dumbly at the sinking globe. "Stop it! Stop that globe you hear me?!" he blinked, turning around, seeing a bloody, angry white bearded mountain man charging him. "Stop him too!" He yelled. Half the demons went one way, the other half the other.

North let out a great laugh as he ran towards the mob, and then suddenly leapt upwards, swinging up onto the ceiling. "Crowley! My yeti's, elves, and reindeer are all hiding in an abandoned village north of the Pole."

"What?" Crowley spat.

"Now you're a man of your word Mr. Crowley, farewell!" With another leap he landed in front of Crowley, pitching him over her shoulder with a crash and bursting out the office window.

Sandman and Tooth where just about to fly into that same window when North flew past them, laughing as he went. They caught him out of the air, right after sharing a stunned look, and eased him to the ground. "Well guys," Tooth said to Dean and Sam. "He didn't take Crowley by surprise, but it looks like North did."

Crowley scrambled to his feet, his face red with anger. The globe was almost totally submerged by now and Crowley stepped up to the edge of the sinking orb. Shmidly stepped up beside him, twisting his mouth. "We can't figure out how to stop it Sir."

"You know as tough as these Guardians are I doubt they can stand up to a higher rank demon." Shmidly nodded, starring intensely at the ground. Crowley glanced at him, and then rolled his eyes greatly. "You know for a second class demon you sure are vacant," he grabbed his head, looking into his eyes. "Get down there and kill the rabbit! He's alone, he's dejected, and you are almost as powerful as a knight. So get on with it!" With that he shoved him into the crack between the hard floor and the globe.

Bunny looked up when the demon dropped inside, taking out his boomerang right away. Shmidly stood up, brushing his vassal's long dark hair away from his face and approaching him. Bunnymund twisted and turned to avoid Shmidly's fire poker, thumping him in the chests with his feet. He couldn't lay it on to thick or he would hurt the girl, yet he still had to fight. Shmidly was barely affected by the kick and rebounded, whacking him across the shoulder. Bunny grunted, holding his arm. "You bloody dingo!" he hissed, hopping over top of him. Shmidly caught his fist and then the other, head butting him. Bunny hauled the demon up, tossing him aside. The fight went on for five minutes, and Shmidly suddenly realized that even though he was barely affected by the Easter Bunny's attacks, Bunnymund was still full of energy and he was tiring out.

He panted deeply, his breath ragged, the fire poker trembling in his shaking hands. With a thud the globe settled underground, he was too late. "You stinking rabbit!" he hissed. He rammed his shoulder into him, smacking the poker into his side repeatedly until finally Bunny caught it, bending it sides and shoving him away. Losing his balance, the demon fell on his rear. Bunny was hurt to be sure, but he was still going strong. "How…" he gasped. "You're not even out of breath you shit!"

Just as he spoke, one, single bright light shone even brighter on the globe. Bunny glanced over at it and then grinned back at the demon. "Because I'm covered ya little blighter," he said, ducking when Shmidly threw the poker at him. Rolling forward, he grabbed the creature by the throat, hoisting its feet off the ground. Shmidly struggled momentarily and then met the Guardian's eyes. "Go on!" he shouted. "You could hit me as hard as you can and I would barely get hurt! But you won't do that will you? Because I'm wearing this bitch's skin."

Bunnymund's eyes flared and he got eye to eye with him. "Get out." He growled. With a grunt he tossed him out of the tunnels.

Crowley starred down at Shmidly's form, and then at where the globe had once been. "Well that's disappointing." He breathed.

*The sand boat Sandy had created landed softly outside the bunker, Dean, Sam, and North stepped out, Tooth landing beside them. "Yeit's and elves are safe." North sighed, rubbing his wrists. "I got message through to them."

"What happened by the way?" Dean asked as they stepped inside. "One minute you couldn't bear the thought of a fight but then you go all crazy. What's with that?"

"Ah! You see," North explained. "I remembered Pitch."

"Pitch?" Sam asked, squinting.

"Back in the Dark Ages he frightened people, making them afraid to go outdoors at night, protecting them from the dangerous wild animals of the world. But times changed, people needed hope, wonder, and fun. So Man on Moon brought us."

"You see we offered Pitch a position as a Guardian but he didn't want his power to be regulated by children. He was jealous." Tooth added.

"Pitch was using Medieval methods in a modern world," North continued. "I tried to tell him that people where now what were endangering the world instead of beasts. But he heard none of it. Then it struck me like thunderbolt!" he declared, pointing a finger in the air. "When I killed Piper I thought I was no longer me! But as it turns out, it made me remember who I was inside! A warrior! Just as I killed beasts, I am to slay these foul creatures that threaten the children of the world! I needed to change as much as Pitch did!"

Dean's eyebrows where up in his hairline by this point, and he pursed his lips. "Ok then," he sighed.

"I'm gonna check on Jack," Sam said, opening the door to the morgue.

He stopped dead, the others jolting with surprise. Pitch turned around from where he stood in the morgue, Jack's limp form in his arms. "Don't be scared," he said, a tiny smirk touching his lips. "It's just the Boogyman."

"No!" Sam yelled lurching forward, but his arms only caught air as Pitch dropped into the ground with the motionless boy, shadows swishing around where he had vanished.


	14. Part 2 Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Pitch starred down at the two Jack Frost's, one with brown hair and tan skin, the other with white and grey. He rubbed his chin, tilting his head to the side. "I wondered," he mused. He looked up at the ceiling, as if he were gazing at the Moon. "Is this the reason?" he turned back. "Well I don't just want to smash the two together and see what happens." He skipped over the bodies and opened the wardrobe doors. He stepped again into the silence, moving around cautiously. His eyes were getting better, he could almost see perfectly in this place now. The more he looked the more forms he saw. Huddled, crouching forms of men and woman, all remaining deathly still. He reached over and grabbed at one, feeling its face. Yes, this one was defiantly alive, he felt it flinch a little, but remain still. After further investigation, he discovered that Jack seemed to be the only one in this desolate place that wasn't alive. _"I'll never know more unless I remove this terrible silence,"_ he thought. Gathering his sand around him, he made a dome of black sand over him and the person he had found. The difference was felt instantly. His ears no longer felt like they were constantly ready to pop, and making a sound without shattering ones eardrums actually felt like a possibility. The cowering girl in front of him blinked, slowly, yet cautiously, relaxing. Pitch grabbed her hair, tilting her head back to look at him. "What is this place?" he hissed.

"Hands off asshat!" the woman growled, shoving his hand off.

Pitch was taken aback, but then he recovered his wits and hauled the woman up by the shirt collar. "Answer me…"

"God I've been waiting to talk for so long and that was the best way to start." She sighed, tossing her hair. "It's Limbo genius," she droned. "That's were all of us go."

Pitch dropped her, angered by her defiance. "What do you mean all of us?"

"Demons," she answered. "Ghosts, angels, everything that isn't a monster like Leviathans and Vamps."

Pitch blinked thoughtfully. "A soul harboring station. A waiting line till the other side!"

"Bindo, give the dork a prize,"

Pitch turned to her, storming over. "I am the Boogyman! This place has been given to me for my control and you will respect me!"

The girl continued to star at him in a very unimpressed way. "You want me to get you a tissue in that case?"

Pitch's face got a very dull look. "What's your name?" he asked.

She leaned forward, her arms folded. "Meg,"

"Meg," he sighed with a smile, and then grabbed her and threw her out of the protective dome.

He stormed out of the wardrobe, paced a little until his anger cooled, and then sat down next to the Jacks. He rubbed his face, and then let out his breath in a puff, looking down at them. "Alright then," he sighed. "Back to mashing them," he rolled the white hair Jack, the one he had found in Limbo, and pressed him into the brown one. They vanished into each other and Pitch jumped back, slightly surprised. The brown slowly started to fade from Jack's hair, replacing it with white. His pigment slowly faded, and then suddenly he jolted up, gasping harshly and grasping his heart. Pitch blinked, and then twisted his mouth to one side, shrugging. "Hm…howbout that?"

Jack swallowed, turning his head. "Pitch?"

"No the Book Worm, of course it's Pitch!" the Boogyman snapped.

Jack swallowed again, trying to stand, but he faltered and fell back to his knees. "Why…how? I…I was dead!"

"Ya!" Pitch said, crossing his arms. "Your body was left back on earth while your soul came here, I just glued you back together."

"You did?" Jack asked, panting still. "Thank you."

Pitch's mouth moved a few times, trying to find words, before waving his hands in frustration. "Look, look, I only did it on a matter of principle."

"Right," Jack said with a small laugh, before he tried to get up again.

"Oh knock it off," Pitch moaned, watching him fall flat on his face. "You just came back from the dead. It just looks like you're going to need to heal up here."

"B-but my friends!" Jack stammered.

"You're too weak to even move, much less fly to them. And don't look at me, they think I snitched your body… well technically I did, so I would rather have you be there with me when I say you are alive. That'll prevent any unnecessary teeth removal."

Jack heaved a sigh and flopped backwards. "So now what?"

"Well…" Pitch said, "I guess you'll just have to sit on your frozen rear until you can fly out of here on your own.

Jack caught gave him a dirty look. "You know, you were _that _close to actually being nice."

"Well then, thank goodness I stopped myself in time," Pitch sneered back. Jack didn't reply, but only turned away from him, pulling up his hood.

Pitch hadn't been too far off. The kidnapping of Jack had Sam worried sick, and the Guardians pounding at Pitch's door. There was nothing else to tell, aside from the fact that Pitch wouldn't let the Guardians in his layer for the following three reasons. One, he didn't want the Guardians to tear him to pieces right off the bat/invading his home. Two, he wanted to see the experiment he started with Jack through, and three…he was a bitch.

In the meantime, Dean and Sam got another tip for a job, and found themselves on the road. Sam spent the whole ride starring out the window. Dean breathed a sigh, thumping the wheel. "Look they'll get to him."

"Tooth slammed herself into every door that led to his layer until she nearly killed herself. Only her call to work stopped her. Bunny is still digging his paws raw trying to get inside." Sam said quietly.

"What could he possibly do huh?" Dean retorted. "He was sorry for the whole thing so he…"

"Is up to something good by stealing Jack?" Sam interjected. "This is Pitch we're talking about."

Dean didn't really have a response for that and he pulled over into a motel. It was shabby, but it over looked the ocean at least. "Here's the deal," Dean huffed. "Some partying kids claimed a corpse came up out of the water and attacked them."

"Dutchman pirate?" Sam asked.

"That's why I took this job so fast," Dean confirmed. "Thanks to Crowley taking the Pole, we never finished that case. We're gonna go get the standard interviews, wait till evening, and then hope the ghost ship pops up."

"I did some research," Sam said, opening his computer. "According to myth, Jones can only come onto the shore once every ten years and, as we already know, his missing heart is his weakness. If we get that, we can off him."

"Any other weaknesses?"

"His crew should go down by regular methods. It might take a little more than normal, but it is doable." Sam answered.

Dean stood and slapped his shoulder. "Let's get to work then," he squeezed his arm briefly. "And don't worry, we will get Jack back, I promise you."

Sam sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, and then put on his work face, and followed his brother.

Later that day, the brothers decided to take a nap so they had energy for the hunt. They slept soundly, but outside the Flying Dutchman was slowly looming out of the water. Darkness had just settled, and the ship slowly turned itself until it was facing the hotel. Dean and Sam awoke to the sound of cannon fire and splintering wood. They rolled off the beds as hoes where blown into the walls, decimating the room. They scrambled up, crouching low and covering their heads. "Stay down!" Dean yelled, right as the bed behind Sam flipped forward, blasted to pieces. Sam was knocked out cold in front of him and he reached down to shake his shoulders.

But a wet, strong hand grabbed him, turning him around, the cannon fire suddenly ceasing. Jones starred him in the eye, leaning forward menacingly. "If ye want to rescue your brother, why don't you tell your Guardian friends to come lend you a hand? Ye'll need all the help you can get." Then the hilt of his sword cracked into Dean's skull, and darkness engulfed him.

Sam once again woke up to the creak of the Flying Dutchman, he sat up, rubbing the back of his head where a bit of blood was crusted. He swallowed and looked to his right quickly as Jones tromped inside. "Welcome back Mr. Winchester,"

Sam exhaled, wincing and getting to his feet. "Not you again. What brilliant idea do you have this time?"

"Working under Pitch was a fool's choice that I regret," Jones said, drumming his fingers on his sword. "Commanding my own affairs have always gone better." He turned away, walking back up the stairs. "Come with me." Sam followed looking around cautiously. Davy Jones motioned ahead of him, presenting a cannon mounted to a rig in the center of the ship. "360 degree turning abilities, it will punch a hole in North's sleigh, we even may be able to rib a pretty red hole in that feathery freak."

Sam sniffed. "Well nothing says well sounded plan like a souped up cannon and discriminatory comments."

Jones glanced down at him, and then put an arm around him. "I think I'll learn to like you Winchester. But you'll have to learn that when a man of the seas says a woman is a useless bitch," he turned, placing both hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eyes. "She's a useless bitch."

"If you think one cannon is going to stop all the Guardians you're wrong," Sam said, stepping away from him.

"My kraken will be waiting under the boat as is the norm. You all had the privilege of calling it off before. Now, it will be waiting to snatch them out of the sky. Besides, the cannon handles North, the kraken handles Sandman, Bunnymund can't reach us without drowning, and the Tooth Fairy is no threat. I believe that's it," he touched his finger to his mouth momentarily. "Wasn't there one more…?" Sam worked his jaw. "Ah yes, the little frosty one…" his fists clenched. "One that recently met a nice…wet…death," Sam threw a punch but it was caught in an iron grip. Jones twisted his wrist downward, leering over him. "Watch it Sam Winchester, ye'll be working on my ship until they come for your rescue. And if ye don't work compliantly, you end up dead…" he turned his head toward his crew, where the old fisherman stood, now part of the crew, a starfish clasped to his neck. "You end up like them."

"What's the point of all this?" Sam asked. "Picking a bone with the Guardians? That's what is generally categorized as stupid."

"If I help Crowley defeat the Guardians," Jones explained. "I get to walk not only one day out of ten years,"

"Yesterday," Sam growled, gritting his teeth.

"But every day of the year," Jones finished. "And that…" he closed his eyes with thoughtful bliss. "Will be so…wonderful."

_(Dear reader, I realize Davy Jones's motives have changed, I will be fixing the chapter later.)_


	15. Part 2 Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sam fell to his knees, losing his footing on the slimy floors. Whipping his arm, he grabbed the thick rope again, hauling on it to hoist a beam up. His hair fell in his face, slick with sweat. Jones nudged past him, yanking his hair as went. "Tomorrow I'll call the barber," he said, motioning to a scary looking eel man with a curved knife. "Give you a proper hair cut."

"What did you do to Dean," Sam interrupted, tying the rope down.

"Left one to spread the word," Jones answered.

"Why single me out then?"

Jones violently shoved a crowbar into his hands, shouting in his face. "Because you brought the bombs that caused me to give my prisoners up! And now you're going to pay off you inconvenience Sam Winchester or help me I'll take out your entrails and replace them with your brothers!"

"Nice threat," Dean called from behind him. "I expected something cliché but you…almost made it."

"Dean!" Sam called, smiling and whipping the dirt and grime from his forehead.

"You ok Sammy?" he called back.

"Better now," he laughed.

Jones shoved him back roughly, stomping a few steps over. "No sleigh? No sand cloud? How the blazing hell did you get on my ship?!" Tooth flitted down beside him, landing next to him and crossing his arms. Jones chortled, and then gave a vibrating laugh, turning to his crew, who joined him. "Well…a woman back on the ship. It seems as though you have poor quality taste in backup."

Tooth's face flushed and her neck feathers bristled. Dean patted her hand as he stepped forward. "I knew you wanted all the Guardians to come, you really need to work on your subliminal messaging."

Jones snorted. "So you brought a woman instead."

"We snuck past didn't we?"

"Frying pan into the fire," Jones said with a sneer.

"Well we're here," Tooth said. "So hand Sam over or I'll take him by force."

There was another peal of laughter and Dean glanced back at her, shrugged. "I'll help too of course."

Another round of rude chuckling. "When a woman can so much as out match even the lowest of my crew, then I'll consider letting you go."

"I accept!" Tooth called.

"Shut up bitch," Jones called casually, turning back to Dean.

"That does it," Dean growled, drawing his gun and firing. Jones turned sideways, the bullet striking the crewman behind him. Sam jumped down, catching Jones in a choke hold. He gagged and choked, but was finally able to wrap his beard tentacles around his head, throwing him off. With a swift stomp, Sam was out cold, turning around, struck out with his sword, slicing the side of Dean's hand before punching him across the jaw.

With both Winchesters out cold, the crew shuffled forward, stepping in front of their captain. Jones tossed his head. "I know she's ugly and skinless mates…" he paused and the turned away. "Rape her."

The crew smiled as they approached. Tooth closed her eyes, and then looked up, her eyes moist. "You want an ugly bitch?! _Then I'll give you one!"_ she screamed, reaching behind her, and producing a set of two, sleek Indian sabers, flying forward. Tooth cork screwed into the front crewmen, boring a hole into his torso before turning to the others. Parrying the downward stroke of another, she sliced him up the middle, jolting as the old fisherman jumped onto her back, biting at her. Her feathers flared, the hidden, tiny blades slicing into him and causing him to fall away. She blocked, countered, punched, and threw, the crew still pushing forward, swarming her.

The clash of metal and the smash of bodies slamming into bodies emanated from the mass of pirates. Jones glanced back, lighting his pipe. _"So she's putting up a fight?" _he thought. _"This'll be pathetic at best."_ He turned around, and the pipe dropped from his mouth. Tooth had just snapped the neck of the barber, grabbing the shark tooth first mate by the ankle, and flying up into the air with him, throwing him down into the water. She landed hard back down on the deck, the bodies of his entire crew piled around her. The crewmen that Dean had shot slowly raised his head, just now recovering from his wound. He starred at Tooth confusedly, and Tooth drove his head back into the floor with her right hand sword, jerking back out and flicking off the blood. "Impossible…" he breathed, drawing his sword.

Gritting her teeth, Tooth flew towards him, swinging her blades. In quick one two three motions, Davy Jones blocked her attacks, returning with his own. Tooth crossed her blades, blocking his stroke and shoving it off to the side. He lunged at her but she flew backwards quickly, causing him to stumble. "Woops! Missed me!" she chided.

"Cheating woman!" Jones growled.

Tooth looked at him defiantly, and then landed squarely on her feet. Knees still bent from unfamiliar use, she trudged foreword to reengage. The fight took the two of them all the way around the ship. Tooth slipped over top of the wheel as Jones stabbed at her, catching his blade in the giant cog and flicking her blade in return. Jones whisked his head away just in time, yanking his sword back. With a long yell and a savage volley of downwards strokes, Tooth back the Captain up back towards the back of the ship. Slashing aside his cutlass, Tooth jumped up, wrapping her legs around his head and twisting him down. Pressing her palms into the ground, her shoved upwards as she swung her legs around, flinging him off the ship. She stood, back up a little. She gasped slightly, seeing a large tentacle rise into the air, Jones standing on top of it. "Cheating Captain!" she called in a warning tone.

"I am a pirate woman," Jones countered. "There is no cheating."

Setting her jaw, Tooth flew up to face him, but had to stagger back almost instantly as the Kraken swung its arm at her, the deadly suckers nearly catching her. Jones smiled, drawing his pistol. As Tooth slashed at the beast in an attempt to dodge past it, Jones leveled the sight on her, carefully taking aim. He gave a think lipped smile as the bead fell on her, this finger grasping the trigger. _"Tooth!_" a familiar voice yelled.

Both of them looked up just in time to see Pitch drop Jack from the sky. The frost spirit gasped his staff as he fell, letting a blast of ice fly from his staff. The Kraken was completely encased by the ice, bobbing to the surface, causing Jones to loss his balance. "Jack!" Tooth yelled, flying down.

The boy was laying limp on the body of the Kraken, and he gave her a weak smile. "Hi Tooth," he managed.

She knelt in front of him and cupped his face, tears in her eyes. "Jack oh my gosh you're alright! How did this happen?" Jack opened his mouth, but was cut short when a shot rang out and blood welled from Tooth's side. Tooth looked down at herself as Jack stared in horror. Her face went white, but then became firm. She stroked his hair. "Wait here," she said, standing up, and flying upwards.

Jones was taken aback, and staggered a little as Tooth plowed into him, swords swinging with renewed vigor. Her blows became harder and harder, jarring his arm as she bashed her swords on his again and again. She forced him all the way up to the tip of the highest tentacle, kicking hard in the gut and arching her swords down.

He blocked him, pushing back against the attack. "No!" he growled. "You'll never know what it'll be like to rule over a man! You'll never know the satisfaction of running his own home, ordering his own ship, and those under him! You won't I won't let you!"

"Well," she sighed breathlessly, wincing in pain. "You'll never know what it's like to give birth."

He grabbed one of her wrists, leaning up and sneering. "Last I heard lass, neither will you."

Angry tears sprang to her eyes and she shoved out of his grip. With a grunt, she threw one sword high into the air while severing the end of the tentacle, causing Jones to fall, dropping his sword. Catching him by the beard, Tooth flew up, spinning him in tight circles by his tentacles before finally throwing him back towards the ship. Jones slammed into the main mast, but didn't have time to fall. Flying after him the moment of his release, Tooth grabbed her second sword from the air, drilling forward, and plunging the swords through Jones, one in his shoulder, the other in his ribs, and both into the wood of the mast, pinning him. Jones let out an agonized yell, his neck tight and teeth clenched in pain. His whole body tightened as if freezing, before finally relaxing and going limp. Tooth gripped his jaw tightly, shaking him. "Look at me! Look at me in_ the eyes!"_ she yelled loudly. Down bellow, the defeated crew, all those who weren't dead, were pulling themselves up, gazing in awe and horror at the sight above them. Tooth panted heavily, her eyes blazing as Jones slowly looked at her, his eyes shifting. "Look me in the eye," Tooth breathed. "And tell me if you still believe that a woman cannot beat you." Jones stared at her, his eyes wide in disbelief and almost terror at the prospect. His lips trembled, but no sound came from them. Tooth tightened her grip. "Forget that!" she yelled. "Tell me if you even believe that a woman can' singlehanded take out your whole crew! Beat you in a rigged dual and pin your sorry sexist ass to your own ship mast! Do you still believe that a woman can't do anything you can do! Well…!"

Jones slowly looked down, his body vibrating. "No…" he whispered.

"What!?" Tooth screamed.

"No…" he said slightly louder.

"_I want your crew to hear this!"_

"_Noooooooooo!" _Jones yelled in agony, the word ending with a sob of utter defeat.

Tooth ripped the swords out of him and he fell, hitting the deck like a sack of potatoes. She landed only a few seconds later, carrying Jack in her arms. She face the crew, who where all starring at her, and slowly began to float past them. They parted away to make her path clear, and she was startled that Dean and Sam where nowhere be seen. She whirled around. "Where's Dean and Sam!" she demanded.

An enormous outburst of denials and apologies erupted from the crew as they explained that they had no clue where they were. There was a surplus of 'sorry mames,' and 'wes don't know mames' were still being called when Dean and Sam actually appeared. The two stepped out of the Captain's quarters, seeing the crew practically groveling on the deck, some of them looking like they were on the verge of tears. Dean turned to Sam. "See, told you she would be ok."

But Sam wasn't paying attention to him, but instead looking at who Tooth had in her arms. "Jack?" he whispered. "Jack!" he ran over, and, after a confirming look from Tooth, took him into his arms, holding him close. "Oh my god! Jack! You're ok!"

Jack smiled weakly. "Yeah…" he said drowsily.

"How did you come back?" Sam asked

"And how did you know where we were?" Tooth followed up.

"Ask him," Jack said, pointing at Pitch, who had just come onto the scene.

"What?" Sam said, squinting at the dark figure.

"Business first please?" Pitch said, not looking happy.

"Right," Dean said, holding up a pounce that appeared to have a pulse. "I got the heart. Turns out the organ was in his organ."

Davy Jones pulled himself up, convulsing with pain. "I'll never stay dead you know that." He said, but this time it was stating a fact, not issuing a challenge.

"Yep," Dean said. He locked the bag in a metal box and tossed it to Tooth. "Wanna throw that into the Bermuda Triangle for me?"

Tooth tightened the cloth around her side, looking. "I would love to." She said. Kissing Jack's cheek and murmuring a quick good bye, she flew off into the sky.

Dean snorted a small laugh, looking very proud of himself. "That'll keep you busy for a while. Now if you'll excuse us." He walked back to his brother. Pitch mounted his horse, ridding off as Jack made an ice platform for him and the Winchesters.

They all left the Flying Dutchman, and Davy Jones didn't say a word as they did so. He just stared, unmoving, as they disappeared. He swallowed dryly. "Depart for the Triangle." He said brokenly, still not moving as his crew rushed about him.


	16. Part 2 Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Why did you help us?" North asked Pitch. They had all gathered in the bunker, even Cas and Kevin had joined in on the meeting.

Pitch sniffed, running a finger over his lips briefly. "I saw you were in a pinch, and knew Jack would never let me hear the end of it if I didn't help. Besides, Jones was a royal pain to deal with, I prefer him stuck in the Triangle."

"We get it that you kidnapped Jack to put him back together," Sam said. "But seriously, you could have just said so and we would have listened. You keep helping us and it looks like you just don't want to admit it."

Pitch glared over at him, his shoulders hunched. "I was responsible for Jack, responsible for his death and now his life. He wasn't supposed to be trapped in Limbo so I had to let him go. The Moon put me in charge of that place." He paused for a moment, and then continued. "I wouldn't help you Guardians if it was the last option I had on earth… Clear?"

"Yeah we got that part," Bunnymund huffed, tapping his foot.

"Then…chow," Pitch said, vanishing into the shadows.

"My friends," North said. "I need to have council with you in kitchen, let Winchesters relax for moment."

The Guardians filed out, Jack hanging onto North's back, and Dean stepped over to Cas, patting his back. "Good to have you back. You certainly took your time."

Cas looked at him, and then opened his mouth. A vague memory flashed in his mind of a drill, and a searing pain. He blinked. "They were looking for him, heaven is vast."

Dean nodded a little, not entirely sure if he was satisfied with that answer. "They're talking about how to take the Pole back. Think you can lend a hand?"

"An angel is very powerful Dean, but there are over thirty demons on patrol in there," Cas reminded him.

"Hey, we'd be there to back you up." Dean offered, smiling at him.

"Perhaps," Cas relented. "If you and Sam go I will most certainly follow."

North came out of the kitchen with the others, handing Jack to Sam. "We have good news, but also dilemma."

"What's up?" Sam asked as Jack shifted to get comfortable in his arms.

"Man in Moon is trying to tell us something, but the only message we can patch through is that we need to talk to him at the Pole," Tooth explained, her wounded side now nicely dressed and almost entirely healed. "We can't just attack, and these things are dying to kill something, bringing you along would be asking you to commit suicide."

"So," Bunny finished. "I'm going to pop my head into the room, get the message, and leave. Sadly, the Pole with have to stay under their control."

There wasn't anybody in the group who thought that was a bad idea, so Bunny set out, and the others awaited his return. Jack patted Sam's arm, pointing. "Can you let me try to walk over to the couch, I think my nerve endings are starting to work better now."

"Sure," Sam said, carefully easing him down.

Jack made it, but barely. He had staggered and nearly fallen right off the bat and ended up flinging himself into the soft cushions. "Don't worry," he had said. "My body will remember being alive soon."

Cas walked casually around the bunker, observing the ceiling and various book shelves. He stepped into the basement, where he found Sandman catching a nap. The image of the drill flashed in his mind again, and he stepped over to the Guardian. He knelt down, getting his nose right to his, and carefully stretching out a hand. He hesitated, the hand stopping above his Sandy's head. His lip twitched and his teeth clamped together silently. _"Castiel!" _ Cas's head jerked upwards at the shout. He found himself once again standing in the sterile, white room of Naomi's office. He looked around, his face grim. It had been a mistake to ask heaven for help regarding the loss of Jack. Naomi had decreed that caring for something as stupid as child Guardians was unacceptable. "You job is to do our bidding not meddle in the affairs of the Guardians and certainly not the Winchesters." She had said. Now Naomi stood in front of him, looking angry. "What are you doing Castiel?!" she demanded.

"I…" Cas said, squinting in slight confusion. He hadn't been sure what he had been doing, not since his recent scrubbing.

"You are to kill that Guardian! Why are you hesitating?"

"Why should they die?" Cas said. "They only care for children."

"Those children are what are going to be our future vassals," Naomi explained. "Do you think that Dean and Sam are the only ones we orchestrate into existence? Those children need to grow up as what they call 'hard nose Christians,' not silly imbeciles with their minds wrapped up in fairytales."

"But taking away their wonder, their fun…" Cas said, frowning.

"Will make them turn to God,"

"But God isn't here," Cas argued.

"Castiel!" Naomi barked. "That is something they don't need to know! Now get back down there and kill that Guardian, claim it was self defense!"

"They will never believe that," Cas almost snapped.

Naomi grabbed up her drill. "_Now!_" she screamed.

Cas blinked, back in the bunker, and looked down at Sandy. He grabbed his head and Sandy's eyes popped open as white light burst out of them. Cas held the smite for a moment, and then let his hand carefully slip away. Sandy blinked a few times, and then looked up at him in a very confused way. Cas looked equally confused. Sandy shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and then folded his arms, his face clearly demanding an explanation. "I…" Cas said, still confused. "Do not…know why I did that. I apologize. I guess smiting does not work on Guardians." Sandy shrugged and Cas looked down at him pleadingly. "Are you going to tell Dean I tried to kill you?"

Sandy gave him a look, pointing to his lips.

"Oh! Right, anyway I…" another flash scrubbing memories. "Think it would be better if they didn't know." Cas finished.

Sandy gave him a weird look, and then walked towards the stairs. _"Stop him Castiel!"_ Naomi shrieked in his ear. _"Use your angel blade!"_

Cas strode over to him, pulling out the blade, and plunging it down.

Cas was tossed into the room, tied up in Sandy's whips. Dean stood up. "What the hell?" he yelled.

Sandy instantly began relaying his tale. But sadly, since that mainly consisted of rapid images forming over his head, Dean and the others were lost as to what was going on. Seeing that he wasn't getting through, Sandy promptly knocked Dean out with a sand stone, and hooked up his mind with Cas's using a strand of sand. Constructing a dream with a wave of his hands, Sandy called up Cas's recent memories, sharing them with Dean.

A hole appeared in the main room of the Pole, Bunnymund's ears poking out and listening for guards. After a few quick sniffs, the Guardian poked his head out of the hole, and looked up at the skylight. "I'm here old friend," he whispered to the Moon. "What is it?"

A bean from the giant white orb glowed brightly, shinning down onto the floor.

Bunny's eyes widened. "What? For real? Another Guardian already?" he frowned, listening. "Need help? Again? We have Jack?" he ducked suddenly as a demon walked past, in the vessel of a twelve year old boy. He slowly came back up. "Well yeah I know he's sort of if not totally out of commission, but really?"

The crystal came up out of the ground, shining brightly.

Bunny bit his lip, grimacing slightly. "Not the Groundhog not the Groundhog, please don't be the Groundhog!" he whispered.

The crystal turned, a puff of black wisps flowing off of it, and the image of Pitch appearing in the center of it.

"_I didn't mean it…!" _Crowley sat bolt upright out of North's chair at the sound of Bunny's yell, rushing out of the room. The demon swarmed the area, looking, searching for the intruder. But by the time they got there, there was no hole, not crystal, and no moon beam.

"Manny's flipped his noggin!" Bunny yelled, jumping into the bunker. Sandy's head snapped up, the line disconnecting.

Dean sat bolt upright. "Naomi!" he yelled, looking furious.

"Naomi?" Sam said.

"Who's Naomi?" North asked.

"Man in Moon just made Pitch a Guardian!"

"_What!?"_ everybody but Dean and Cas chorused.

"She's hoping to off you guys so kids grow up to be naïve meat suits!"

"Pitch is doing what?" Kevin asked, stepped in, a tablet in hand.

"Pitch is turning kids into meat suits," Tooth said.

"No!" Dean yelled.

"Someone Naomi just became a Guardian," Jack called.

"No!" Bunny hollered.

"And now she's manipulating Cas and trying to get him to do her dirty work!"

"I say Man on Moon is totally out of it this time and we need to fix this!"

"Hold it!" Jack yelled, standing up, but collapsing forward, flopping on the table with a bang.

Everybody stopped talking, Sam helping the boy up. Jack shook his head slightly and then pointed. "Ok, first things first. Dean, who is Naomi?"

"Some psycho high up angel from heaven. She's been messing with Cas's mind. Apparently the angels want the kids as much as the demons do, and that's not a good thing." He answered.

Jack nodded, his lulling over to Bunny. "Ok Bunny, I think I heard what you said, but you might want to run it by us again."

Bunnymund took a deep breath, speaking clearly. "Man in Moon has called upon Pitch to be a Guardian."

"I was afraid you had said that," Jack said. "But Pitch doesn't even care about kids."

"And he's been your biggest foe since the beginning of time, till Crowley showed up that is," Sam pointed out.

"Not to mention he has horrible teeth," Tooth added.

"Have we forgotten he's a total diva?" Dean snorted.

"Exactly!" Bunny said, sighing with relief. "He's a rude, creepy, self interested…"

"Guardian," North interrupted, and they all glanced at him. He stepped forward, taking the floor. "What Jack said about Pitch was the same Bunny said about Jack not long ago. Man in Moon has never been wrong. Meaning if he saw enough change in our old enemy to declare him Guardian, then we have no reason to doubt his trust now."

"Well…yeah," Bunny said hesitantly. "But what's his center? Fear?"

"Yes," North said. "That is the part of him has been hidden for so long. He is afraid, and if he uses that fear right, then he will be protecting children as much as we are."

Pitch starred at North dumbly, slowly letting out his breath and allowing himself to grin slightly. "Are you serious North?" he said is disbelief.

The others had agreed that North should confront Pitch first, and tell him what had happened. Now the two of them stood in his darkened layer, and North sighed. "Gravely so, the children and the world need you," he replied and Pitch barked a short laugh.

"Manny makes me a Guardian? Fear being my center? Am I supposed to believe this?"

"It is true," North insisted.

"No! No!" Pitch yelled, pointing at him venomously. "You offered me this once how _dare _you offer it to me again! I told you centuries ago that I will not have my power dictated by the belief of mere children!"

"Times have changed!" North growled and Pitch groaned, turning away. "It is no longer the wild and animals it is men and these demons! Your old fear tactics are useless but you are still needed!" He turned Pitch around, his large hands resting on his shoulders. "Spiritually we must stop the children from being harmed by men. But physically we must go to war against these monsters. Please Pitch, we need you."

Pitch starred at him, and then lifted his hand away with two fingers. "No, I need you…to back off. The world was mine to care for and I was doing so just fine before you, and I will do it again soon enough." His lip curled. "So good bye North, don't let the door hit you on the way out."

North held his gave for a moment, and then nodded a little. "Ok," he marched away a few paces, shoving on his hat. "Destiny called Pitch, now…it will wait."


	17. Part 2 Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dean carefully eased himself down next to Cas on the couch, folding his hands. Cas didn't look at him, but kept staring ahead in his usual intense, yet slightly space cadet like, manner. Dean licked his lip, rubbing his hands together, and then spoke up. "So uh, scrubbing is still just as bad in heaven huh?"

"I do not wish to discuss it Dean," Cas said, turning to look at him.

"Look man you just tried to smite Sandy and God knows how many more under that psycho's control. I think we need to talk about it." Dean countered, sighing briefly. Cas looked away again. "You just don't listen and give into their bullying do you?" Dean asked. "That's what this is all about, between you and them that is."

Cas blinked, rubbing the corner of his eye before giving the barest of nods. "Yes."

Dean swallowed, and then very carefully put and arm around him, squeezing his shoulder. "You gonna be ok?"

Cas gave a quiet sigh, and then nodded. "Yes."

"Good," Dean said, standing up. "Because I'm gonna murder Naomi for this!"

Cas smiled quietly and stood up. "I'm going to go get the groceries for this week," he said, walking across the room.

"You?" Dean asked. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Cas said, giving him a look. "I am fully capable of purchasing food products Dean." He got that look on his face, the one he always made before disappearing.

"Would you like some cash to pay for it?" Dean called and Cas stopped.

"Oh right," he grumbled, walking off into one of the side rooms.

Pitch dragged another huddled form into a group. He had been organizing the demons and ghosts into groups of fifty, four meters between each group. None of the forms resisted him, Pitch could see, and was strong. They were blind, and were weak. Pitch wanted to make sure he could rule this world with fear, the only way he knew how to rule. However, when it came to fear, Pitch was able to do so without being cruel. This was something that he found himself doing more and more, though he would never admit it. His hands when moving the spirits were firm, yet comforting, like some sort of benevolent monster who only asked for respect. The bodies in this place reflected the state their souls had been in. Some were really torn up, others not so much. Pitch turned a slow circle, and then breathed in deeply, gathering his power, and then spreading his black sand all over Limbo. Great walls of it stretched upwards, creating an enormous dome that sheltered all inside. Limbo was vast, but thank to scouts and looking around it himself, he knew how big he had to make it in order to cover everybody, and had nightmares patrolling the outside, to ensure none were left behind. Instantly the horrible silence was dispelled and even some of the inky darkness was sapped away. Pitch rolled his neck, and sighing. "Now, that's much better." He said loudly, his voice carrying. He looked over the crowds of souls, all watching apprehensively. He smiled, folding his hands. "My name is Pitch Black, the Boogyman. And I'm in charge now," he said. "Any questions?"

"Why do we now take orders from a child's nightmare?" A yellow eyed man said.

Pitch snapped his fingers, and suddenly the demon soul was swarmed by nightmares, and dragged screaming out of the dome and into the silence. Pitch rubbed his ear, clicking his teeth. "Any more questions? No? Then you…" he said, pointing at Meg. "Follow me, I have questions for you."

Meg stood up silently; slight traces of haughtiness still present, and followed him out. She turned around to face him the moment he closed the doors. "What?"

"You are a demon that died recently," Pitch pointed out. "That's why you are near the front, versus those that died twenty years ago."

"So?"

"Meaning that there's a seventy percent chance that a Winchester killed you."

Meg gave a short laugh, shaking her head. "I was guarding those knuckle heads hides when Crowley punched a hole in my gut."

"Crowley huh…seems to be a household name." Pitch mused. "Listen I know you like being a snarky little pest but do us a favor and don't do it in there or I'll be tossing you into the silence again."

"What? Like what you just did with Azazel?" Meg asked, jerking a thumb back. "Why the permission slip Mr. rather feared than loved?"

Pitch clenched his jaw. "You help me out with trivial things and you can sass all out want, _out here_." He stressed. "But never in front of the others."

Meg shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Well I can tell you're going to be a joy to work with," Pitch sighed, opening the doors again and motioning for her to get in.

Meg stepped up, but paused. "How are they?"

"Not bad,"

"And Clarence?"

"Pardon?"

"Cas," Meg said, fixing her words.

Pitch squinted at the expression on her face. "Naomi is giving him trouble I hear, other than that…"

Meg's mouth twitched in a wry smile, her lips tightening. "Well in that case, if you ever see Naomi, gut her."

Pitch rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever, now get in there."

"Yes daddy," Meg said in a mocking voice, walking in with a swish of her hair. Leaving Pitch very frustrated, and very confused as to why being nice was suddenly seeping into his daily character.

Pitch walked outside, striding through the mist in the cold evening air. He looked up at the Moon, grinding his teeth together. "I don't want your pity. I want what was mine!" his shoulders slumped. "I just…what's the point. Jamie he…didn't even believe in me. After everything I did!" he looked down at his refection in an iced over puddle. "Do you honestly think that I could help kid with my fear. Help them…" he trailed off, and then shook his head glaring back up. "Forget it you hear me! I won't do it! I won't do it!" he stormed back into his layer, trying to forget and ignore pull inside of his heart.

"If we don't get the Pole back Christmas is going to go to crap," Dean said to North. The two were sitting in the kitchen together, North chowing down on some cookies that Sam had made.

"Not so, Yetis make toys in underground village, work will be slow, but we will meet deadline," North said, leaning back. "Still," he swallowed his mouthful. "Attack should be made, but not without Pitch's help."

"Yeah…but that didn't go so well last time." Dean reminded him.

"He will come around," North assured him, his eyes stern. "I have seen this all before."

Dean let out his breath and strode out of the kitchen. He opened the door, just in time to see Tooth fly slightly into the air, seating herself casually on the couch, and Jack shifting his position, crossing one leg. He stopped and then rolled his eyes. "How's the tooth operation?"

"Oh," Tooth said. "Good, good, I'm heading over for the evening rush soon."

"I mean the one you where giving Jack with your tongue," Dean said.

Tooth's face got a little pink at that and she glanced at Jack. It didn't help that he was just smiling up at her, one eyebrow raised. "Well look at the time!" Tooth declared nervously, flying up. "I better get going."

She flew out just as Sam came in. Jack craned his head back, grinning. Sam smiled back, shoving his legs up so he could sit beside him. "How ya doing bud?"

"Better," Jack said, sitting up a little. "I should be on my feet soon."

Sam grabbed up the T.V remote, clicking on the tube. "Wanna watch something?"

"Watch?" Jack asked.

"Every watched T.V before?" Sam asked and Jack gave him a look.

"Um…No."

"Well this'll be fun then, it's like reading a book with moving pictures…only you can hear the book reading."

Jack twisted his mouth to the side in thought. "Alright, sounds odd, but alright."

Sam settled back into the couch, and then stiffened, feeling the sheet of ice soak the back of his shirt. "Jack…" he said through gritted teeth, taking off his shirt and tossing it down.

Jack snickered. "Shhh…" he said, the ice disappearing from the back of the couch. "The show is starting."

Dean came out of the kitchen later that night, having fixed himself a pre midnight snack, and starred at Jack and Sam. The T.V was still flickering, and Jack's head was resting on Sam's shoulder, completely asleep. Sam had his arms wrapped around Jack, and for a moment, Jack's image was replaced with a younger Sam and Sam's image was replaced with a teenaged Dean. Dean blinked, the image vanishing from his mind, and he smiled. Sam didn't get to play older brother very often, so it was good to see. Clicking off the T.V, Dean headed to bed. "Dean," Cas said quietly before he could reach his door.

Dean turned around instantly. "Yes?"

"I hope I am not an inconvenience…with Naomi taking control of me."

Dean smiled sadly. "Is she still on your back?"

Cas squinted. "I believe it is difficult for her to reach me when I am around the Guardians. Especially Tooth, she helps me know what memories are real and which ones are not."

Dean came over and clapped his shoulder once. "Then it's not a problem, we can see the signs now right?" Cas nodded, meeting his eyes in his usual unblinking stare. Dean nodded back, a silence ensuing, and then he cleared his throat, turning away. "Good, good uh…good night Cas," he walked into his room. Cas stood in silence for a moment, then glanced to his left, then right, then took two steps until he was standing by Dean's door, and that's where he stayed until the sun came up.


	18. Part 2 Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Crowley whistled a merry little tune as he paced around the Pole. Now that the globe was gone, and Bunnymunds warren impossible to find, Crowley was all but fed up with hanging around this frozen tundra. He called Shmidly and a few other demons to the office, stepping inside and seating himself in North's chair, the window boarded up behind him. "You called sir?" Shmidly asked, twirling his vessels hair absentmindedly.

"Yes," Crowley sighed, popping his fingers. "We are making a few game plan changes. Now as far as I can tell you, Shmidly, are just below the power of a knight of hell, despite your stupidity. Yet you couldn't even defeat one Guardian, even though you had smacked him up with a fire poker nearly half a dozen times! Do I have that right?!" his voice had raised to a shout and Shmidly cringed.

"The Easter Bunny proved to be quiet difficult to deal with."

"He wasn't even laying it on thick!" Crowley fumed. "They can't hit us because we're possessing brats, so what can we do to make them weak?"

Shmidly seemed to think. "Well when I asked him why he still had energy, he looked at the globe, and said he was covered."

"Yes, yes, all the children that believe in them," Crowley sneered. "We would have been able to solve that problem but now the globe is gone!"

"Well sir that's the thing," Shmidly interjected. "There was one particular light on that globe that was brighter than all the rest, I think it is giving them an extra boost."

"You mean to say that with all of heaven, yes heaven too, and all of hell, and all of everything else they have to handle, one little light is giving them the power they need?!" Crowley shouted, still reclining in the chair. "They have fucking _adults_ believing in them and it's a kid that's keeping them going?!"

"Well sir…"

"Well sir! Well sir! Is that all you can say!"

"Well…no…" Shmidly stammered, his slow mind not comprehending a change in vocabulary. "It's just that I think that because the Winchester's believe because just because they have seen so much, they don't give the power that a child believing in blind faith does. In short, it is a child that believed from the very beginning and will do so till his death bed. And that's why it is so powerful."

Crowley starred at him. "That's fantastic…I'm impressed Shmidly well done. Now, where was that light shining on the globe?"

Shmidly opened his mouth, and then hesitated, one eye rolling. "I don't know."

"_Get out…..!" _Crowley thundered, the demons bursting out of the room and scattering. The king of hell sat back in his seat roughly, turning around in it, coming face to face with Naomi. He raised his eyebrows. "Naomi love how wonderful for you to flutter in. How can I help you?"

"Do not sweet talk me Crowley," she said, folding her arms, an angel blade in her hand. "You know perfectly well why I am here."

"Of course," Crowley said, pouring some hot liquid in a Christmassy mug. "You want the vessels, but you can't have the vessels unless I have the souls yada yada ya…coca?"

"No," Naomi said distastefully.

Crowley set the mug down with a thud. "Let's make a deal, we team up and kill the Guardians, then we can cock fight it out over the rest, just like we have always done."

"Heaven will never befoul itself by working with demons. We would rather loss the war to a child's fairy tale. We could never work together and have it last you know that Crowley." Naomi said sternly. "So here is 'the deal,' the angels will do their work; we will find the brightest light and take the child to heaven where he or she will be taught the truth."

"You mean scrubbed?" Crowley corrected, smirking a little and making a drilling noise with his teeth.

"Necessary if we are to bring the world around for the greater good," Naomi went on. "I advise you and your men stay out of the way."

"Those blighters won't hesitate nearly as much to kill your angels if they're in adult vessels," Crowley cut in.

"It goes against their nature that will not happen," Naomi countered.

"And what makes you think I'm going to just let you leave and get in my way?"

Naomi smiled. "Because I have Jonah on the roof." Naomi was kidding, a tall, broad, olive skinned man stood on the top of the tower, looking stoically over the mountains. "Each of his wings is as large as a whale," she continued, seeing Crowley's face sour. "He is the only angel blessed with the power of a long ranged smite. You… will have to comply."

The head demon heaved a sigh. "Fine,"

"Thank you," Naomi said, nodding curtly, and disappearing.

Crowley waited until he heard Jonah leave, a loud sounding whoosh signifying his absence, before getting up and running out. He grabbed out his jar of blood, pouring some into the coca mug and talking into it. "This is Crowley, king of hell, I need Abadon, send her…now!"

Not ten minutes later, the knight of hell stepped in, rolling her head. "You called…sir?" she added with a slight sneer.

"We have a whale of a problem as you might say." Crowley explained.

"Ah," Abadon sighed. "So Jonah the high assassin of heaven is out an about, so you need to equal fire power to get rid of him."

"Almost," Crowley said, waving a finger. "I need you to find a little kid and tear the bastard to shreds, before heaven can steal him away for a super vessel. Can you do it?"

Abadon shrugged. "Asking stupid questions don't become kings Crowley, where is this brat?"

Suddenly Crowley felt a lot like Shmidly, and he hesitated. "Nobody knows, thanks to Shimdly the wonder brain. I just need you to stand by until we can locate him. Got it?"

Abadon flounced out. "Sure," she said. "I won't even need to change skins, these Guardians are in for a surprise."

"They're with the Winchesters now don't you _dare _underestimate them Abadon!" But Abadon merely waved the bird over her head as she stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Tooth flew into the bunker and into the kitchen. Dean, of course, was setting out a long line of bowls, pouring milk and cereal in them and calling for people to come and eat. Sam was already seated at the counter, and scooped one up. Tooth said good morning and casually picked up one of the bowls and flying out to the living room. "Good morning Jack," she said happily, sitting down on the coffee table and setting the cereal down.

Jack shifted in his sleep, turning his head up. "Sam?" he asked, looking around.

Tooth blinked, and then leaned back slightly. "Um…he's in the kitchen." She said.

Jack pushed himself up, and Tooth's eyes widened further when she saw Sam's shirt tangled in the blankets. "Oh…hey, morning Tooth."

She laughed nervously, "Yeah…morning. Well I better go,"

Jack blinked. "What?"

"There a lot to do and little time," she chimed, flying up, grimacing nervously and then flew out.

Jack squinted after her, mouthing the word 'what' and looking around. He frowned, and then glanced down at Sam's shirt, and then reflecting back on what he had said. His eyes widened and he burst into the kitchen.

Everybody turned at the noise. Jack opened his mouth, closed it, and then grinned. "Nothing," he said, walking back out, rubbing his head nervously.

Sam was frowning in his typical pondering moose way. But then he shrugged, finishing his cereal. "I'm getting a shower," he said, getting up. Jack raised his head as Sam stepped out, into his room, and then into the bathroom. He smiled, creeping over, and sitting next to the door. He waited until the water had been running for a minute or two, and then flicked his staff. Sam bellowed from inside the shower. "_Jack…!"_ he roared, the sound of breaking ice following the yell. Sam slammed open the door, a towel around his waist, lines of ice sticking out of his chest where the streams of water had frozen to him.

Jack smiled smugly at him folding his arms. "You wouldn't want to run out of the bathroom in a towel in front of everybody would you?" he teased.

"Well you know what they say," Dean called from the kitchen. "Be best way to win a fight is to come after the guy naked."

Jack's face fell and he looked up at Sam. Sam inhaled, his eyes wide with comical anger. "That's it," he breathed and bolted for him.

Jack let out an excited yelp, trying to run but was caught by the back of the neck. Sam dragged him backwards, slamming the door behind him. He shoved Jack into the shower and turned the water on, splashing him the face. Jack struggled, splashing back. Sam hauled him up, sticking his face into the spray of the shower and pouring shampoo all over him. Outside, Tooth flew back into the bunker, explaining herself before she heard what was going on. "I didn't mean to take off Jack I really didn't, I was just caught off guard cause it…looked…like…"she stopped, seeing that Jack wasn't there, but hearing the ruckuses in the bathroom.

"_Hey not fair!"_

"_Hold still!_

"_Geez you got in my eye Sam! Get that away from me!"_

"_Ow! Don't shove!"_

"_Why not? You got me soaking wet!"_

Tooth's shoulders slowing started sinking, his mouth falling open.

In the bathroom, Sam was dunking Jack in the water while Jack was smearing soap scum all over his face. Sam spat. "Nasty!" he said. "Could you try to keep it out of my mouth!"

"Quit dunking me over and over and I will!" Jack grumbled, getting up and staggering out of the tub. He scowled at him, throwing him a towel. "And put something on will ya!"

Sam shrugged, toweling his hair. "I told you I'd get you back for all your pranks." Jack frowned at him, and then some ice shot out of his staff, right between Sam's legs, and giving him an ice coating. Sam hollered, getting back into the bath and sinking his extremities into the warm water. "Jack I swear!" he called as Jack cackled loudly and walked out of the bathroom.

He strode out, all full of himself, and stopped dead, seeing Tooth. "Hey you came back." Tooth starred at him, her eyes wide, face stunned, and looking utterly petrified. She flew out quickly and Jack blinked at the sudden disappearance. Suddenly his face fells again, he reflected on the dialogue between him and Sam, and then slowly touched his hair where the white shampoo was dotted. He burst back into the bathroom, grabbing Sam by the shoulders and shaking him. "I'll kill you I'll kill you!" he said, grabbing his face and looking him square in the eye. "Tooth thinks I'm gay do you realize what this means?!"

"Jack," Sam laughed. "Your explaining this to a naked guy in a bathroom."

Jack guppied, his mouth opening and closing rapidly before he shook himself, cleaned himself up with a blast of ice, and ran out. "Get out here when you're done!" he called as he went.

"She thinks you're gay…so what?" Dean asked, cracking open a beer.

"She's my lover," Jack said. "Being gay might make that relationship a little strained don't you think? Besides she thinks it was with your brother! This doesn't concern you guys?"

Dean and Sam looked at each other, and then shared a barely suppressed smirk. "Actually, Jack," Sam said. "We think it's kind of funny,"

"_What?!"_ Jack exploded.

"Weeks of you freezing our coffee and making us slip," Dean said.

"Not to mention making the toilet seat ice cold," Sam added.

"We figure this is payback time,"

"Ha, ha, very funny, please don't." Jack said dryly.

"On what grounds?" Sam asked.

"On the grounds that I spent three hundred years practically alone as a kid who did _anything_ to get attention…" he gulped. "But only got from my sister," he shrugged. "Mom was always working to feed us and dad…" Jack sighed. "They all…you guys too, be with me. Tooth, she…she means a lot to me and I don't want to upset her."

The corner of Sam's mouth stretched to the side a little in thought, and then he stood, giving Jack a hug. "We won't let it get out of hand," he leaned back and squeezed his shoulders comfortingly. "But that doesn't mean we're going to forget this."


	19. Part 2 Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sam and Dean cracked the door open to the room that Jack was resting in. Even though he had been doing much better, and had even been able to play with Jamie and his friends the day before, he was still very weak. The immortal now actually required food and sleep to keep his strength. They exchanged looks. "Waddya think?" Dean asked. "Should we pull one over on the kid?"

Sam hissed quietly, cocking his head. "I feel bad for him, but as long as were there to explain to Tooth that it was all a prank I'm sure we can try something."

Dean slowly nodded, "Right, I'll be back," he slid away and strode over to Kevin's room, tapping on the door.

The prophet opened it, looking tired. "What?" he asked moodily.

Dean held up a fifty dollar bill, "I need you to be part of a little joke."

Kevin rolled his eyes but snatched the money. "Shoot."

"I need you to go sleep next to Jack,"

Kevin gave him a weirded out look. "Why? And what happens after that?"

"Sam sleeps on the other side. Just stumble in and 'pass out' on the bed, sleep there, and that's it."

Kevin pursed his lips, and then nodded. "Ok, but this better not backfire on me."

"Does it ever?" Dean asked, slapping his shoulder. "Now get in there."

Heaving a large sigh, Kevin stumbled over and into Jack's room, putting on a pretty good sleep walker act, and flopped face first into the bed. Jack jumped, his head lifting. "Kevin?" he mumbled. "What are you…? Hey…Kevin." He shook him, but the grad student shoved him moodily in 'his sleep.' "Um…" Jack said, working his jaw and looking over his shoulder. Then his eyes rolled and he became too tired to care and rested his head back onto the soft pillow. Half an hour later, Sam silently crept in, peeled the blankets back and, very carefully, slid a pair of his pajama bottoms over Jack's brown pants. Since Sam was so much taller and wider than Jack, the pajamas concealed the pants perfectly. Once that was done, he eased himself down on Jack's other side, making sure there was blankets between them so he didn't get a cold.

"I know he's not gay I really do," Tooth sighed to herself as she directed the last of her fairies, the day slowing down. "I mean, that would be ridiculous," she said, her wings flapping quickly. "We had, well he and I we…well, I mean that's my point. Not gay, bi maybe, oh no that's not any better!" she sighed and seated herself in the corner, playing with her finger tips absentmindedly. "I just think I'm reading this whole situation wrong."

Bunny, who had come over to listen, pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and came over, unfolding his arms. "Look, Jack just poked at Sam a little too much so the bloke dunked him in water and rubbed bubbly stuff on him."

"I know I know," Tooth said. "I'm just over reacting that's all….Bunny?"

"Yeah?"

Tooth bit her lower lip, fiddling with her fingers more. "Could you…go there, and see what he's up to. I think if Sam and Dean are up to something then they will just be waiting for me to show up. So if you could go in secret, and see what's really going on…would you do that for me?"

Bunny chuckled a little. "Sure, don't worry yourself over it, Jack's as straight as a flag pole." He turned, walking away, scratching his ear as he went, mumbling to himself. "Since the end of Viking era that is,"

Bunnymund tunneled to the bunker, traveling under the floors and poking his head out when he reached his bed room. He came just in time to see Sam rolling out of the bed and shaking Kevin awake. "Kev," he whispered. "Kev come on before he realizes what's going on,"

The two of them left quickly, Sam smothering laughter. Bunny raised an eyebrow, starting to put the pieces together. A bit later, Jack rolled out of bed, looking around blearily. "Kevin?" he asked, and then blinked, looking down at himself. "Sam?" he said, and then his eyes widened. "Not again you _jerks_," he half yelled, getting up and storming over to the dresser. He stopped dead, seeing Bunnymund meet his gaze, and then vanish into the hole. Jack burst out of the room. "_Sam!_" he roared.

"Now you know how it feels," Sam called back playfully.

"Know how it feels! You mean you know how it feels to have somebody trick your friend into thinking your queer?"

Sam seemed to think about that. "I was referring to getting pranked."

Jack scowled at him. "Where are my pants?" he asked moodily.  
"Not telling," Sam said, and Jack pounced him.

"Yeah, he's totally gay," Bunny said casually, back at the Tooth Palace. Tooth was staring at him in dumb shock. He shrugged, "Sorry, can't be helped I guess," he smiled. "Gotta run." Tooth watched him hop away, her mouth slowly falling open. She hovered there in silence for a while, "What?" she managed to squeak. And looked, seeing that Bunnymund had gone already. She inhaled, and then squinted. "Wait," she breathed. And then her lips tightened and a slight flame appeared in her eyes before they narrowed into a scowl. She flew off across the horizon, heading for the bunker.

Tooth flew into the following scene. Sam and Jack where wrestling around the living, Jack pulling at Sam's hair, and Sam tossing Jack around like a rag doll. "Give me my pants!" Jack growled.

"I don't have them!" Sam insisted.

"Where are they Sam!"

"Not telling!"

Tooth glared, and then her face relaxed and she sighed. "Aw…that's adorable!"

The two stopped, Jack leaping away from Sam as if shocked. "Tooth! Now look whatever Bunny said I can…"

"No it's fine Jack," Tooth said, waving a hand.

Sam squinted. "What?"

"It's totally cute," Tooth said. "You're playing little games after having a fun time, I always knew you two had a spark."

"Um…" Sam said.

"No!" Jack said. "No we do not have a spark!"

"You're…ok with this?" Sam asked.

"Shut up!" Jack hissed.  
"Well of course, reproductive freedom right?" Tooth said and their mouths dropped.

"Um uh…Jack, you're a…you're wearing your pants…" Sam said distractedly.

Jack looked down, and then scowled, stripping off his pajama pants and throwing them into Sam's face. "Tooth I really don't understand."

"Relax," Tooth said, patting his cheek. "Just tell me when it's my turn that's all."

"What!?"

"Well gotta run, lots of work to do!" she flew off.

"_Whaaaaaaaaat!?" _Jack yelled again, the bunker shaking.

Sam blinked a couple of times. "Well that…you know I didn't get that at all."

"You jerk!" Jack shrieked. "She's! She's," he blinked. "Um, actually I don't know what she is either. Is she masking fury? Is she actually…." He swallowed.

"Dude," Dean called from the kitchen. "She's jerking your chain, fooling you."

Jack's stammered. "Y-you really think so?"

"You have one sharp chick there Jack; she's smart enough to realize when something's a joke."

Jack looked down, thinking about that, and then looked back up, a mischievous look in his eye. "Well two can play at that game." He flew out the door. A moment later, he flew back in. "Oh and Sam!"

"Yeah,"

"That was funny, do something like it again and I'll never let you take a warm shower again."

Jack flew to the Tooth Palace, and oddly enough Tooth wasn't there. The mini fairies where all working, getting their coins, bringing back teeth, and altogether running a smooth operation. He flew up onto the roof, waving his hand. "Hey girls!" he called. "I dropped by for a visit!" Instantly all the fairies swarmed around him, chirping and shrilling excitedly. Baby Tooth landed on his shoulder, chattering and smiling at him. "Hi, hi," Jack said. "Wow it is really great to see you all!" A rush of excitement ran through the wave of fairies, several of them swooning. "I just came by to say hi and to tell you all something, you wanna know what it is?" more chirping. "Really? You really wanna?" now the fairies wings where all flapping like mad and they hopped up and down in the air in anticipation. "Ok, ok, calm down, I just came by so I could tell you all that I'm _gay_." The chirping stopped instantly. Baby Tooth blinked and then looked up at him, cocking her head. The other mini fairies slowly drifted down, settling on the ground, their little mouths hanging open. Silence ensued for several seconds and Jack smiled smugly. Then one of the fairies screamed and they all flew off in a flash, chattered in panicked voices. Baby Tooth remained on his shoulder, still staring at him. Jack smiled at her, patted her head, and then carefully set her down, flying away. "Tell Tooth I said hi!"

Garth carefully poured some tea into a cleaned out toothpaste cap, looking over at Baby Tooth. Ever since he had talk with Tooth, Garth had been inviting one of the mini fairies to his house for tea each day. He accomplished this by convincing every kid on the block that the Tooth Fairy existed and then having them leave an invitation to his house under their pillow. It helped him feel better, Garth still felt quite guilty, but now he was letting it go, especially when he saw how nice the mini fairies were. Now Baby Tooth was starring in shock at a downwards angle, taking minuet sips of the warm drink. "So…" Garth said. "I take it today didn't go so well?" Baby Tooth chattered, gesturing with her hands, even though Garth couldn't understand her. He nodded, as though he understood perfectly. "I've had hard days too," and then Baby Tooth started getting hysterical. She fumed, she shrilled, she flew in tight circles and shook her tiny fists. Garth began getting the impression that the situation was more serious than he had anticipated. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, "That looks serious little one! Is somebody in trouble!?" more chattering. "Tooth? Santa?" Baby Tooth flew in his face, waving her arms. "It is Santa isn't it?!" Garth exclaimed, looking over at his Christmas tree. "I have noticed a lack of Christmas spirit around here." He gasped, "Something's happened to stop Christmas! Oh no!" he bolted up and Baby Tooth stopped chattering; and started starring at him in confusion. "Come on Baby Tooth! Whatever it is we have to stop it! Christmas is at stake here! Keep up with me!" he called, running out the door. Baby Tooth chirped once or twice, trying to stop him, but then rolled her eyes, and flew after him.

Crowley set down a bowl of blood, waving his hand over it and muttering an incantation. The liquid bubbled, and then the face of Davy Jones appeared in it. "So," he said. "How's Bermuda?"

Jones remained silent for a spell, and then sighed, his spirit still devastated. "The Guardian of Memories was more powerful than anticipated."

"Let me make sure I have this right. You and your _entire crew_ was beaten up by a little girl?"

"She is a _warrior!_" Jones thundered, slamming his fist on his desk.

"Right," Crowley said dismissively. "You keep telling yourself that. Point is it was still one person. How did that happen?"

Jones sighed, "I sought for answers upon my defeat. The children make them strong."

"Yes but strong enough to take out all of those baddies singlehandedly? No, Guardians were meant to work together. They've had a power boost since last year. There's a light, brighter than all the others, a believer than stood by them out of blind faith from the very beginning, never stopped believing, and now will continue to believe in them when he's an old man. A jewel that's what the brat is, now does that sound like a reason why you all failed miserably?"

Jones worked his lips, popping them slightly. "Yes, that would do it. The light is Jamie Bennett."

Crowley's said shot up. "I beg your pardon?"

"Pitch mentioned him, he lives in Pennsylvania, if that boy dies the Guardians power will weaken enough for your demons to defeat them." The pirate sighed, looking away.

Crowley carefully reached over, and flicked the bowl off the table, raising his head. "Well…" he sighed. "I'm certainly glad I know that."


	20. Part 2 Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jack as almighty proud of himself, Tooth would be so mad. It would be a funny mad though, one that got him attention, so it was something to look forward to. He stepped into the bunker with a happy stride. "Well somebody looks smug," Dean laughed. "What did you do?"

"Oh nothing…" Jack said sneakily.

They heard a crash from the kitchen and Dean ran in instantly. Upon opening the door, he saw North attempting to scoop up a platter of cookies that had slipped from his hands. Dean was about to make a snarky comment, but then saw North's face. His eyes were red and teeth gritted, and one of his large arms came up to brush away a tear. "North, what happened?"

North sniffed and stood, brushing off his hands. "I am fine, I just accidently dropped tray,"

"Yeah I noticed," Dean said, looking at the counter which had dozens of papers laid out. "But this looks like the straw that broke the camel's back, what is it?"

North swallowed deeply, gesturing to the charts and plans. "I am stumped. I have no clue how to get back the Pole! I am running out of time!"

"Look chill, chill ok," Dean said, grabbing one of the charts to examine it.

"I cannot chill!" North yelled, throwing up his hands. "No matter what attack we execute the children they are possessing will still be hurt! They have us pinned! We may have backup supplies in abandoned village but they are running low! There will not be enough for Christmas!"

Dean glanced back at Sam, and then sighed, "Look, we may just have to…"

North turned on him, "Dean Winchester…do not…finish that sentence."

"The kids are gone!" Dean shouted

"They can be saved!" North thundered back. "I would rather disappear from children not believing in me than let somebody kill a single one of them!"

There was an uncomfortable silence, and then Sam intervened. "Maybe an attack isn't the way to go about it. Maybe just a reason for them to leave the Pole, and find a better base."

"Well if you have any ideas as to how to do that I would love to hear it," Dean replied.

"Pitch," North said quietly.

"Pardon?"

"Pitch is the answer."

"Oh come on," Dean said. "He's a diva! The primadonna of the Dark Ages, how can he be of any help?"

"Because Man in Moon said he needed to be Guardian, to help us, we are trying to get along without him, that is why we fail." North explained. "I'll be back! I need to talk to him again."

Pitch sat in his main room, Meg looking over his globe. "So this thingy majig shows you where all the little pests that believe in the Guardians are?"

"Hmm," Pitch hummed in reply, playing with his sand.

"So they some of these lights are kids that believe in you?"

Pitch hesitated, sitting up. "Children don't believe in me, they didn't even believe in Jack for the longest time."

"Well somebody must, because these are a lot of lights, and figuring that none of them are paying attention to you sounds a little whiney." Meg sighed, tapping the metal.

"They _all_ used to believe in me!" he declared standing up.

"Woopy for you," Meg said, not paying him any mind.

"Look," Pitch snarled. "I had a boy say to me in my face that he believed in me, but wasn't afraid of me. A few minutes later I was invisible to him."

Meg rolled one eye back to him, "What was he doing at the time?"

"Having a snow ball fight," Pitch answered, but then glared. "What difference does it make?!"

"Wow you really know how to throw a hissy fit," Meg said bluntly. "The kid was having fun you goober. No wonder he wasn't seeing you, he was distracted from fear." She rolled his eyes, turning away from him.

Pitch worked his jaw, "I think it's time you went back inside."

"By the way why do you have one of these?" Meg asked, patting the globe. "North's the only other one who has one right?"

"Yes…so what?!"

"That means it's a thing only Guardians are supposed to have," Meg said.

Pitch grabbed her arm and strode over to the wardrobe, opening it up. "Thank you for the input, now back in you go."

"Yeah, just one last thing oh might king of nightmares," Meg called.

Pitch shoulders sagged. "What….?"

"Clare…um…Castiel, the angel," she shifted, suddenly looking flustered. "Any chance you could have him come down here to… well just let him know I'm alive ok?"

Pitch stared at her dully, and then pushed her into the darkness with two fingers, closing the doors. Standing there in silence for a spell, Pitch suddenly took off running. He ran and ran, moving through the shadows, making his way the Pennsylvania. North stepped into this layer, swords ready. "Pitch?" he called, slowly sheathing them. "I need to talk to you, I figured out what Manny wants you to help us with…Pitch?"

Pitch kept running through the night, not stopping once until he reached the town where it all began. Panting, he stormed up to the house of Jamie Bennett, walking through mom and striding up the stairs. Melting into the shadows, he slid under the boys bed, waiting. He remained there in silence for a few minutes, and then he allowed himself to stand up, looming over him. The boy shifted in his sleep, his eye cracking open. He gasped, sitting up and scrambling back a little. "Pitch!" he whispered.

"Ding, ding, ding, give him a prize," Pitch said dryly.

"You're not here to make us stop believing are you?" Jamie said, looking defiant now.

"No," Pitch sneered. "And shouldn't you be more concerned with me trying to scare you?"

Jamie shrugged, his face becoming more pleasant now that Pitch had denied his accusation. "Well…no, that's your job, I can't get mad at someone who's just doing their job."

"My _job!_" Pitch scoffed. "I haven't been allowed to do my job since the Dark Ages!"

Jamie settled himself in a sitting position on his bed, as if preparing himself for a story. "What happened?"

"I wasn't good enough for the Moon that's what happened!" Pitch said. "So he sent your precious Guardians to replace me!"

"Did he offer to let you become a Guardian?"

"Well…yes," Pitch said hesitantly. "Twice now, but the point is…!"

Jamie shook his head. "No, the point is, you're being selfish."

"I beg your pardon!" Pitch said loudly. "Do you realize who you are talking to?"

"Yeah," Jamie said genuinely. "You're the Boogyman who happens to be selfish." Pitch was totally flabbergasted, and Jamie went on. "They wanted you to be in the family Pitch, you could do so much for the Guardians!"

"Like what?" Pitch spat venomously. "Make little kiddies scared? That's why they stopped me in the first place!"

"It's because you were using it wrong," Jamie explained gently. "You're using outdated methods. You no longer have to terrify people to keep them safe. Look, when Jack took me sledding that day, I was in a really dangerous situation, and I wasn't scared, not really, not in the way I should have been. Sure Jack was keeping an eye on me, but I could have been in real trouble, and a little fear would have made me stop and keep myself safe."

"But…" Pitch said, looking unsure.

"Animals and wilderness are no longer the threat Pitch; I see the news, its people now. It would be your job to give us a healthy fear that could keep us from dying Pitch! And a well placed nightmare will help us realize important thing, just as much as a well placed dream." Jamie's lips tightened. "So you can't be selfish Pitch, you just can't."

Pitch starred at him, his eyes wide. He blinked a couple of time, a tear dropping. "You children…_need_ me? I never thought you would actually…_need _me." He raised his head, turning to the window, his eyes searching. He looked back at Jamie.

"What is it?" Jamie asked, looking out the window as well.

All around the town, black, smoky shadows crept along the ground, making their way towards the Bennett house. Crowley walked casually at the front, a smile on his face. Pitch could see all of this from miles away. He looked down, his lips moving, and looked at Jamie. "A well placed nightmare!" he said, as if he just had a realization, and dove under the bed.

"Huh?" Jamie said, running over and looking under. "Wait, Pitch! What is it?"

Crowley continued to move, fists clenching and unclenching in anticipation. Moving at this slow rate might be tough to stomach, but it would keep the angels from interrupting them. The small armies of demons marched until they were only a few feet from the house. Smiling wider, Crowley snapped his fingers. The windows exploded as the smoke burst through them swarming the house from top to bottom. Crowley watched calmly as his demons ransacked the home, knowing they would kill everything in their path. Quiet came onto the scene as the demons finished, and Crowley dusted himself off and stepped through the front door, the kicked up dust making a small haze in the window to his left. He looked around, and the frowned ever so slightly. The house looked…empty. "Well…" he said, "What's the body count."

"Three sir," Shmidly said, dusting off his hands as he stepped in.

"Ah good, I guess we can head home then," Crowley sighed with contentment.

"Aren't we going to find the boy sir?"

Crowley's eyebrows shot up, and he turned back around to face him, his mouth slowly opening. "Pardon? We have three bodies? Are any of them the kids?"

"Well sir," Shmidly said. "No,"

"Ah," Crowley said. "His mum?"

"No,"

"Sister!"

"No,"

"Pet!"

"Well…no,"

Crowley threw his arms in the air, "Then what the bloody hell did you just kill you jackass?!"

"The only living things in the house sir where a couple of mice," Shmidly answered.

Crowley couldn't even speak. He couldn't even show shock, or rage, or anything. "Well let's go get Abadon then. Looks like our knight is about to become a bounty hunter." With that he walked out, only to burst back in and start beating Shmidly in the head out of raw frustration.

Back at the bunker, Dean's head snapped up, looked at the clock, the calendar, and then away again. "Shit! Where the hell is Cas!" he exclaimed, getting to his feet.

End of Part 2


	21. Part 3 Chapter 1

Part 3 – The Brightest Light

Chapter 1

Everything was white, everything was keening loudly, and everything hurt. The whiteness filling Cas's vision slowly blurred, forms taking shape in front of him. Where was he? How did this happen? Oh yeah, that's right. He had been standing by Dean's bedroom door, the sun had just come up, and he knew the older Winchester would be awake soon. Dean had been through a lot lately; Dean had been through a lot lately ever since John had lost Mary. So he had flown away to get him some pie. He had bought the pie, and was just leaving the parking lot. He winched, that was it, something had blinded him, it almost felt as if he had been smote. But obviously that wasn't right because he was alive…maybe. He blinked his eyes a few times, Naomi looking down at him, Jonah behind her. "Castiel," she said. "You have got to pull yourself together! You can't be serous in your alignment with these Guardians!"

Cas blinked again. "What happened?"

"Jonah punched you," Naomi answered.

"He smote me," Cas growled, feeling his eyes. They were there, and undamaged. He glanced up at Naomi…at least they were for now.

"No Castiel, his fist radiate with the power of heaven, they just hurt much worse than normal punches." Naomi cleared her throat. "Now, I am willing to grant you amnesty, in return you tell us where Jamie Bennett is."

"I do not know where the child is, but even if I did I would not tell you, these children are in need of our protection."

"We are protecting them!" Naomi insisted. "We are showing them reality, so they don't hold onto childish fantasy, so they can serve heaven and save more of mankind."

"You mean to say that stripping away the fantasies that happen to be real so they can serve a god who isn't is the way to help them?" Cas challenged.

"The boy nor his family where nowhere to be found!" Naomi shouted. "Crowley nearly killed him, his boy's only hope is to give him over to heaven now where is he!?"

"I do not know!" Cas insisted. "I had no idea Crowley even knew where he was!"

Naomi straightened, her face grim. "Castiel, listen to me closely, when we finally confront these Guardians you will be there, and you will help us defeat them. You may even consider giving their position away. If you do not do this we will start killing the children on Jamie's street."

"But why! How is this any better than what demons do!?" Cas demanded.

"Better for them to die peacefully than to live life serving hell!" Naomi shouted back. "Now I will contact you when we have a strike team ready and when I do you give them away! I know you understand…so do it!"

She marched away. Jonah glanced over at her and then back at Cas, stepping over. "I will be searching for them, when I find them I will tell you where they are. Go there." He held up the pie Cas had bought. "Good bye Castiel." He shoved it in his face, and Cas awoke, sitting in the parking lot, cherry filling and crust dripping down his face.

Jack, Jamie wrapped up in his arms, landed on the soft grounds of the Tooth Palace and gently set the boy down. Jamie took a few steps back, shaking his head. "Jack?" he smiled, and then laughed, jumping over and hugging him. He stepped back again. "Wait, what's going on? I was standing by my window, and then all of the sudden you where there and now we're here, what happened?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't really know, I was getting some rest, then all of a sudden I had this terrible dream, a dream that you were in danger. So I told Sandy that there was trouble and flew to your house as fast as possible."

"I was in danger?" Jamie asked.

"I certainly looked like it, there was this black smoke coming towards your house, and Crowley was there."

"Crowley?"

"Um…" Jack worked his jaw. "He's uh…like Pitch, only a million times worse."

"Whoa…" Jamie said, his mouth gapping open.

"Yeah…" Jack said, nodding.

"But what about my parents, and Sophie, and my dog!?" Jamie asked desperately, suddenly looking scared.

"Relax," Jack said, kneeling in front of him. "That's why I got Sandy's help,"

"But how could he get them out? They don't believe in you guys!" Jamie pointed.

"Well that doesn't mean we can't do anything," Jack said. "I was able to put ice under your feet before you believed in me, Tooth still collects teeth, yeah sure it's harder for North and Bunny to set up their stuff in a house that have no belief in them. But! Sandy is always giving people dreams…and consequently he can knocked people out."

Jamie started, and then squinted at him. "Sandy knocked my entire family out?" a tiny smile played at his lips, and he gave a laugh, holding his sides. "That's so funny! Where are they?"

"Um…" Jack said, standing up and rubbing the back of his head. "About that, Crowley and his lackeys are still after you, so Sandy hid your family up in his could. They won't think to look for them there. You on the other hand are going to have to stick with us, so we can keep you safe."

Jamie looked down, and then carefully took a hold of Jack's sleeve. "Why is Crowley after me?"

Jack rested a hand on his head. "You believed in us ever since you heard about us, and my guess is you'll never stop believing."

"Of course not!" Jamie said earnestly. "Not even when I'm old. Not even if everybody thinks I'm crazy."

Jack laughed a little. "Right, that's my point, because of that you make us really, really strong, strong enough to beat back an army of demons. Crowley wants to…" he hesitated, and then swallowed. "Keep you from giving us power that's all."

"Demons?" Jamie said, his eyes wide.

"Uh…yeah, they look like people but they're really mean, and sometimes have black eyes."

"Yuck,"

"Yeah how bout it? Now come on," Jack said, hoisting him onto his shoulder and flying upwards. "We gotta get the others here."

Jack took Jamie to the main stronghold of the Tooth Palace. The mini fairies were all glaring at him, but slowly relaxed and became curious when they saw Jamie. Leaving Jamie in the care of the minis, Jack stepped into Tooth's personal quarters. Seeing him, Tooth flew down from a bed that had some nest like qualities about it. He floated in front of him, her arms folded. "You just had to tell them you were gay huh Jack?"

Jack snickered a little. "We can talk about this later."

"No we can't!" Tooth said, waving a finger at him. "I figured from the begging that Sam and Dean, and Kevin…and Bunny, where all pranking you, still I was a bit worried…"

"You where what?" Jack said. "You knew and yet you were still worried?"

"Well…" Tooth said, rubbing her arm. "The whole Scotland thing a few hundred years ago didn't help."

"Oh for the love of…!" Jack said, pacing briefly and rubbing his forehead. "I was not gay for that Viking! How many times to I have to point that out?"

"First time I've hear it," Tooth said.

"Bunny and I had this conversation many times," Jack muttered. "It…was…_platonic._"

Tooth relaxed. "Ok,"

"Ok? You actually believe that?"

"Jack people can have platonic relationships and people shouldn't give them a hard time for it so of course I believe you."

Jack starred at her. "You are amazing," he said, walking over but Tooth placed her hands on his chest, keeping him back.

"But! You still knocked tooth gathering to a crawl because of your little joke."

"I'm sorry," Jack said, "I'll apologize."

Tooth sighed, and then carefully kissed him on the lips. "Now…how can I help you?"

"Right," Jack said, pointing behind him. "Jamie…"

"Jamie?!" Tooth said.

"Yeah, Crowley's kind of hunting him so…"

"What?!" Tooth exclaimed, her wings flapping hard. "Then why did we just spend five minutes talking about misunderstandings?"

"Because you said it couldn't wait," Jack said, and Tooth threw her hands into the air, flying past him.

Jack waited in silence as Tooth talked with Jamie for a minute or two, before coming back inside. "Jack," she said. "This is serious,"

"No kidding?" Jack said, leaning on his staff. "If he dies Crowley can beat us, and even if that wasn't the case, that monster is still hunting a kid. We have to keep that from happening. Now his family is safe in Sandy's cloud."

"Thank goodness," Tooth sighed. "Jamie believes that Crowley is trying to 'get him,' the same way a little kid is afraid of Pitch grabbing their ankle from under the bed. He's not even thinking about what could happen should he be caught, all he knows is that he doesn't want it to happen. He also assumes that Crowley is just a mwahaha guy like Pitch."

"The longer we can let him feel that way the better, this kid doesn't need to grow up prematurely because of trauma." Jack pointed out.

"But can we even pull that off?" Tooth asked. "Run and hide from Crowley, kill and fight his demons without exposing Jamie to the ugliness of the world?"

"Yeah," Jack sighed. "It'll show us just how good we are as Guardians."

Using her fairies to call the other's, the Guardians me in a large circular meeting room at the Tooth Palace. "Jamie," Jack said, motioning. "This is Sam and Dean, they are good friends of ours and know how to fight Cowley."

"It's nice to meet you," Jamie said, shaking their hands and making sure he looked them in the eyes.

"So you got on Crowley's hit list huh kid?" Dean said, winking at him. "Don't worry, we'll make sure that bas…"

"Stander!" Sam interjected, slapping a hand over Dean's mouth.

Dean peeled of off his hand, giving him a dirty look before smiling back down at Jamie. "Bystander," he said. "We'll make sure that bystander doesn't get his mitts on you."

Jamie nodded and then got a thoughtful look. "What's a bystander?"

"Oh!" Dean said. "It's a kid who comes around before his folks got hitched."

"Huh?"

"Dean," Sam hissed, guiding him away.

"Alright!" North declared, stepping in. "I have good news, and bad news! Good news is the Pole is empty and the yetis are picking the work up there!" A cheer went up from the group and North waved them down, smiling. "Yes, apparently they so no more reason to stay now that they are on the hunt. Bad news is, we still won't make deadline. They have no one to lead them, no organizer." His face saddened a little, but then he perked up. "But no matter," he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "They are doing their best, and it is no longer accommodating filth."

"Sorry I'm late," Pitch said, swooping in. "I didn't realize I was invited."

"I sent you a fairy," Tooth said.

"And that was supposed to convince me?"

"Well I should certainly hope so you're a Guardian now," Tooth said.

Pitch laughed, but not really as harshly and with drastically less conviction. "Right,"

"Forget it Pitch," Bunny said, breathing a sigh. "Jamie told us everything, you saved his life, and his whole family by warning us."

Jamie stepped up beside the Boogyman and touched his wrist. "It's ok," he said. "Just listen to each other."

Pitch looked down at him for a moment, and then looked back up at the others. "Ok fine I'll help you lot out, but I'm not swearing in on some fancy book!"

"Fine by me," North said, "I call this meeting to order then. First matter, Crowley…"

"I eavesdropped on the group," Pitch said, speaking up right away. "He's sending a special demon named Abadon after us."

"Shit…"

"Nizle!" North cried, shooting Dean a look.

Dean settled back in his seat. "Schnitzel," he confirmed, glancing at Jamie, who was playing in the corner with the mini fairies. "Abadon is a knight of hell," he said. "Very dangerous, even we have no idea how to kill her."

"If we use my tunnels to get around it will be faster and less noticeable," Bunny pointed out. "If we have an army of demon's on our tail we are going to need to keep moving."

"Why can't we just fight them?" Sam asked.

"We can't afford to leave Jamie alone," Jack said. "All of us have to be near him or the demons will get him due to sheer numbers. We would also like to keep him from seeing something ugly."

"Good luck with that at this stage," Dean sighed.

"Next issue?" North asked.

"Cas is missing," Dean said quickly. "He's been missing for a bit now. If he didn't pop in and out like a Jack-in-a-Box so much I would have realized his absence sooner."

"Hello Dean,"

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin, knocking his knee on the table. He turned around. "Damn it Cas where were you?!" he stopped. "And why the hell are you covered with pie?!"

"Dean quit swearing in front the kid!" Tooth demanded.

"It is alright," Cas said, looking up at her. "I figured Dean would swear so I altered the child's perception to swear words."

Jamie snickered from the corner. "Were the lollypops were you," he laughed jogging over and grinning up at Dean. "You're really funny." He turned to Cas. "Hi, I'm Jamie."

"I am Castiel, and angle of the lord."

Jamie's eyes widened. "An angle? Really?!"

"Hey don't get too happy," Dean said. "This one is nice but the rest are total cheesecakes." He stopped, rolling his tongue.

"Oh," Cas said. "I should have mentioned, the perception distorter is not a mere spell to put on one human, it will affect everybody nearby,"

"Brilliant," Dean huffed. "Now will you tell me where the pie came from?"

Cas suddenly looked very sad. "I went to get you some pie since things had been so hard, but Naomi caught me, and Jonah shoved it in my face."

Dean looked positively furious, "I should have known that Naomi pattywagon would do something like that." He blinked again. "Pattywagon? Really Cas?"

"I do not chose its choice of substitute," Cas informed him. "I also regret to say I have bad news. Naomi is forcing me to become a traitor."

"What?!" Bunny said, taking out the boomerang.

"She has some more organizing to do, but soon she will contact me, and I will have to give you away or people will get hurt."

Dean eased Bunny down with a placating gesture. "Easy now, we can work with this. You see kid these angels and demons are pretty much one and the same. One has dark powers, the others light, but both are evil. Except this one. But the main evil angel is mind controlling him."

"They have mind control?!" Jamie said excitedly. "That is so cool!"

"Right…" Dean said with a sigh.

Jamie went back to keep playing an exploring, Cas joined the meeting. "We can make this work," Dean said. "We can avoid the demons until a trap can be set, then Cas can give the signal and boom! We got em!"

"That is too dangerous Dean," Cas said. "I want you to keep me from finding you. We have no idea when Naomi will call upon my assistance. But you can lay money that it will happen if Jonah can't catch you himself."

"A souped angel and a knight of pudding competing for one little kid," Dean made a frustrated face. "Cas!"

"the h-word is technically an expletive Dean," Cas said.

"Anyways!" North called, thumping the table. "We have plan? Cas is warded away until we can spring trap, we travel by the tunnels."

"What kind of trap can we make?" Sam asked. "Crowley still has his men in kid suits."

"Unless we can get them out without hurting the kids," Jack said, looking down. "We can't fight them…at all."

"We cross bridge when we get there," North said. "Tooth, will you accommodate us?"

"Yes," Tooth said with a nod. "If they come around I'll have my fairies retreat to the Pole."

"I must go," Cas said, and Dean stood up quickly. "But be warned, Jonha can fire smites from a distance, and getting hit by him is like being smote without dying, his wings are the size of whales, and he is one of heavens most accomplished assassins."

Then, without another word, he vanished with a flap of wings. Dean opened his mouth, but then closed it, setting his jaw. "I'll get everybody warded; since we know so Cas well it will be easy to ward him in particular."


	22. Part 3 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jamie's laughter could be heard all throughout Tooth's realm as he and Jack played together. Bunny and Sandy watched from one of the towers, the setting sun glowing on their faces. "Kid isn't too worried about his folks," he looked down and over at the Sandman. "He trusts you."

Sandy smiled, shrugging his shoulders with a little shake of his head.

"Well I guess when you tell somebody their loved ones are sleeping peacefully in a giant dream sand cloud away from all danger they tend not to worry." He rolled his shoulders and then cracked his back. "Ok, I'm off to make sure we have clear tunnels and fast strongholds. So long mate," he tapped his foot on the ground and dropped into his tunnels."

As the sun continued to set, Jamie became more and more sleepily, until finally his head was nodding off even as he stood. Jack, seeing that the boy was fading, took him into his arms and carried him up the stairs. Opening a door that led to a small bedroom, he rested Jamie's head down onto the pillow, and tucked him in. "He's such a little sweetheart," Tooth said quietly, floating in.

Jack jumped a little at her sudden appearance, but then relaxed with a tiny smile. "Yeah," he looked back at Jamie, then at Tooth, and then gave a tiny laugh. "Here we are again," he leaned back on the bed frame. "Keeping an eye on the same awesome kid as he sleeps." He sighed, leaning his head back. "Doesn't even know what sort of trouble he's in."

Tooth hummed quietly, letting just the tips of her toes rest on the floor. She smiled quietly at the boy, folding her arms. "I love kids," she said, giving a tiny laugh.

"You said," Jack breathed quietly. He glanced over at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You even think that…? Well…" he rolled his head in slight embarrassment. "Well this right here looks a lot like a family. Only thing is Jamie doesn't belong to us,"

Tooth's face changed, and she turned away, her hand brushing her stomach ever so slightly. "I don't know Jack," she said. "Maybe were just not cut out for taking care of a kid."

Jack frowned, watching her as she floated out. He got up and followed her, silently closing the door behind him. "What are you talking about?" he laughed. "We take care of kids for a living."

"I mean that I'm working all the time, I'm a spaz and sometimes a bit dizzy, not that those are really bad things but…"

"You would make a great mom," Jack said, resting one hand on her back and turning so he was looking into her eyes."

"And you would make a great dad," Tooth said earnestly. "But you're a kid at heart Jack, you move around to play games all day, you don't have a home like North or Bunny,"

"Sandy doesn't have an establish place to hang is hat," Jack pointed out.

"But would you be ok settling down?"

"Look these are all really good points but it doesn't help the fact that we would both be really good for a kid so Tooth, what is going on?" Jack said.

Tooth opened her mouth, "I…just don't think I can do this now," feeling tears forming behind her eyes, Tooth flew upwards and away to keep Jack from seeing them.

"Tooth!" Jack called, taking a step forward before stopping. He watched her silhouette against the Moon's light. She flitted a few meters to the right, and then set herself down so she was seated on the edge of the roof. He worked his jaw, and then flew upwards, landing behind her. He took a few paces, chewing his words carefully. "Tooth," he said carefully, reaching out careful to touch her shoulder.

She turned away slightly, but then reached back and too his hand, giving it a tiny squeeze before letting go. "I'm sorry Jack," she said, her voice strained slightly.

Jack blinked his eyes hard, and then looked down at how her other hand was resting on her stomach. "You…" he said sadly. "Can't have kids,"

Tooth sniffed, rubbing her eye with one fist, and then shook her head. She looked up at the sky and sighed. "I always wanted to be a mom Jack," she said. "But for some reason I knew I would never be able, that's why I love my job so much."

Jack sat down next to her, gently putting an arm around her. "It's ok," he sighed, looking down and swinging his legs slightly. "I doubt I can either, it must be the price for being immortal."

"But, but Pitch!" Tooth said, her fingers gripping the collar of his hoodie. "Him and Nature!"

"I don't know." Jack said, taking her hands. "Maybe Pitch is an exception, I haven't heard of many other Legends much less Guardians."

Sniffing again, Tooth leaned her head into his chest, a tear running down her cheek. Jack hugged her close, rubbing gentle circles into her back. He heaved a sigh, resting his forehead to hers. "We can try. We can always try, until it works."

"And what if it never works?" Tooth asked, raising her head.

Jack brushed her cheek. "Then we keep trying."

Tooth starred at him, and then gave a tiny laugh, her smile sad. "Okay…" she laughed again, this one with a little more happiness to it. "Okay,"

Jack grinned and kissed, leaning into it. Tooth pulled her arms out from between them so she could wrap them around his neck, kissing him, the two of them leaning back to rest on the roof of the tower.

"Since we are all on big journey together we must set ground rules," North declared as they all stood beside Tooth's lake. "Since we have an honored guest," he said motioning to Jamie. "There will be no more swearing," he looking meaningfully at Dean and Sam. "Secondly, we have to make sure we keep a one hundred percent kid friendly environment. This includes making sure he is not watching battles and being kidnapped,"

"Wow you don't say?" Dean muttered with a grin.

Pitch watched dully as Jamie ran past him, splashing in the water. "I have a Limbo is run by the way," pointed. "Tooth has teeth, Sandy has dreams, and Jack has snow days, so…what's with that?"

"My fairies will be able to hold down the fort until we get back, Sandy will combine dream making with night patrol, and Jack will be popping out at convent and safe times." Tooth explained.

"Yeah, another thing," Pitch said. "Rumors, and by rumors I mean a man who makes his living patrolling the earth nocturnally, have it that you two are shacking up,"

Both Jack and Tooth eyes got wide, and their faces got a little red. Bunny glanced at them, and then back at Pitch. "Yeah, we all kind of know about that," he said.

"Right," Pitch replied. "It's just that for a while there, and by a while I mean old Scotland things where seeming a little rainbowy, and it seemed," he glanced at Sam, "That those old feels where coming back,"

"Oh my gosh!" Jack said, tilting his head back dramatically. "I'm straight! I'm straight! I may not look it some days, some say I don't act it some days, but I am straight!"

"Right…well congratulations then on your hook up," Pitch said, waving a hand as he stepped away. "I bet that won't go all Greek mythology and Zeus's pants on you,"

Bunny let out a long grumble, still adjusting to Pitch being around. "How do you start this? We can't stay here or they might kill some of the minis,"

"We are moving to the warren," North told him. "The eggs can hide to prevent Easter damage, and the eggs can be…eggs, and not pose the risk of more people getting killed."

"Good call," Bunny said, pointing a paw. "When do we set off?"

Jack listened distractedly as North began laying out a time table, and jogged over to Pitch. "Hey Pitch," he said carefully, tapping his shoulder. Pitch turned around, his face apprehensive. "Hi," Jack said, his hands gripping his staff nervously. He held out his hand, "Welcome to the family,"

Pitch starred at the hand and then at him, his hand drawing close to his chest. "What?"

"Your part of the group now right, even if you're not a official Guardian you were chosen, so you have the stuff,"

Pitch sniffed a short laugh. "You never offered this hand of friendship before…"

"Pitch…"

"I did!" Pitch half yelled, his fist clenched. "I offered this to you!"

"No," Jack said lowering his hand and sticking his chin out. "You offered this to get what you wanted. Yes having me around to understand you and help you would be a bonus but let's face it! You weren't even thinking about me when you started this, I became a bonus point!"

Pitch's teeth clenched. "Why even acknowledge them? They're snobs!"

"No, no," Jack said. "Bunny is a snob, but he's still a good man! They would have welcomed us with open arms as friends if we had just gone to them!"

"Maybe you but not me!" Pitch challenged.

"Only because you started fighting them the moment they came into being, they offered to be your friends!"

"At the cost of my _power!_" Pitch exploded, panting.

Jack looked at him long and hard. "So you have your power…happy?"

Pitch took a step back, inhaling, not knowing what to say. "I…" he frowned. "I don't want your pity!"

"I'm not offering it!" Jack snapped. "Yes a part of me wants to feel sorry for you because I know how you feel! But you know what? You don't want it, and you don't need it! You are not a man to be pitied, you're a man to be feared!" he relaxed, letting his shoulders loosen. "I fear you because you _are _scary. It's no mystery, you know your center as well as everybody else…its fear."

"Oh that's jolly!" Pitch laughed sarcastically. "Yeah Jamie made a perfect point that I can keep children safe. The fear of being on the naughty list, the fear of darkness, the fear of losing someone dear, that will make them better themselves. But as a center? You're joking! What's fear compared to wonder and fun as far as bright and happy Guardians go?"

"Not all of us have to be bright and happy, some of us actually have to have the hard job," Jack saw a change in Pitch's features. "I know deep down in your center you are as scared as everybody you ever frightened. Why else would you get so angry because I wanted to be your friend, just a few minutes ago?"

Pitch swallowed. "But will I actually be any…?"

"Good?" Jack asked him, and Pitch shot him a glance. "Of course you would be. You are a Guardian like the rest of us. You're just a different flavor. So…?" he held out his hand again. "Past behind us?"

Pitch looked at his hand again, and then shook it quickly, letting go. "Deal. You lot certainly let of things mighty quickly."

"Well they did the same for me," Jack said. "Now, I had a question."

"Sure,"

"You uh…have a daughter right? Mother Nature?"

Pitch starred at him dully, his lips pressed together. "You _are _an idiot," he sighed, striding away.

"Oh come on!" Jack called as he left and then jumped as a scorch mark appeared in front of him. Looking up, he saw the towering form of Jonah standing on one of the towers.

In a moment Bunny had scooped up Jamie and dove into a hole, North, Sandy, and Tooth following. Jack turned to Dean and Sam. "Get in there mortals!" he called, using the usual term to drive his point in a single sentence. "We un killables will evaluate him!"

Knowing how frustrating it was to have somebody argue with them during a fight, Dean and Sam jumped after the others, the hole disappearing. Jack and Pitch turned to face the angel. Without a word, the man jumped from the tower, landing in front of them, the earth shaking around him. Pitch heaved a sigh as he stood next to Jack. "Our first fight as companions, how cliché."

"Aw come on," Jack said, twirling his staff, "Let's test the water's shall we?"

"Resistance if futile," Jonah said quietly, his voice almost a whisper from scarce use.

"Right, that's what they all say," Pitch said, rushing forward and swinging his scythe, Jacking leaping over his head and sending a wave of snow hurtling towards the angel.

Jonah dove out of the way, ducking, and then firing a white blast from his hand. It hit Jack full in the face and he staggered backwards, his head keening before it finally settled. Shaking the dizziness from his head, and thanking the Moon he was smite proof, Jack got back to fighting. Jonah grunted as black sand wrapped around his legs. Pitch rose up in front of him, pulling back on his bow string. "Wait! He's in a vessel!" Jack cried. "You can't actually hurt him!" Pitch turned to him, and then felt the back of his head get grabbed. Jonah jerked him back, stabbing him multiple times in the back and neck. "No!" Jack yelled, running for him. There was a sonic boom as the wings of the angel snapped out, cracking Jack's head backwards and blowing him away. The angel flew off, back on the hunt for Jamie. Jack lay there for hours, before he finally awoke, staggering up. He groaned, feeling sick. He gasped. "Pitch!" he called, running over to him clumsily. The Boogyman's eyes where black, burn holes now. Jack knew he would become alive again soon, but it could be days, or weeks, Pitch sat up.  
"Ow!" he yelled, and Jack let out a terrified cry, falling back. Pitch looked at him, rubbing his eyes with his palms. "What?!" he demanded.

Jack heaved a sigh and then began laughing, holding his sides and rolling around. "Oh wow!" he cackled. "I forgot how much of a power boost Jamie gave to those he believed in. Gee whiz you scarred me popping up like that!" he relaxed. "I'm glad you're ok,"

"Yeah," Pitch sneered, getting up and dusting himself, glaring up at the sky. "Me too."

"The good news is we figured out a few of his tricks and, thanks to Jamie, our death recovery time is a few hours," Jack told Dean and Sam later, seated on a mossy rock in the warren. "Bad news is, Jonah is tough stuff, and he's only the first assassin,"

"We'll take care of him," Dean assured.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "We have experience with extra tough angels. They go down like everything else."

Dean grunted as he pulled out a cooler. The three of them where chilling out by a small stream, just for old times sake. There was a rustling noise as Dean's hand shifted through the ice, pulling out a beer and handing one to Sam. He turned, tossing one up to Jack. "Here catch."

Jack caught it, fumbling only slightly. Sam frowned. "Um Dean," he said.

"What?"

"He's under aged," he said, as if it was obvious.

"He's three hundred years old and has moved in with his girlfriend," Dean said with a laugh, "I think he can have a beer."

Sam made an angry moose face, but Jack called to him. "Hey Sam, its fine." He told him. "It can't really do anything to me and I drank it all the time back in my day."

"You drank beer at seventeen?"

"It was in the e olden days," Jack laughed. "If I had been born of noble blood they would have been pushing for me to get married." He cracked open the bottle and took a drink from it. Sam still looked uncomfortable, but kept silent. Jack lowered the bottle. "Besides," he said, wiping his mouth. "I got thinking. After this is all said and done, I want to stick with you guys and fight Crowley."

Dean snorted. "What makes you think he'll be alive when we're all through with him?"

"Then the devil, the rest of the demons, angels, Naomi, all of them. They endangering both the kids and you guys. I have power," he said standing up and placing a hand on his chest. "More power than them, with us on your side, this fight with them will go way faster."

Sam rubbed the back of his head and Dean shifted. "I don't know Jack," Sam sighed. "Our life…it's well…dark,"

"Well my first fight was against Pitch, he's dark as you can get."

"Yeah but that Pitch wasn't covered in buckets of blood pole dancing a giant bone adorned with human organs." Dean said with a grunt.

Sam shifted over to Jack, gripping his shoulder once. "We appreciate your help and all you've done Jack, but we can't ask…" he hesitated. "Or even let you get into this life."

Jack scoffed, swinging up onto the top of his staff. "Too late you think?"

"You're a Guardian," Sam said. "Of fun for that matter, the whole mess you're in is because Crowley pulled you into it. It's your job to get back out."

Jack rolled his eyes, hopping down and striding off. "I think I can handle it."

Sam and Dean shared another knowing glance. They knew all too well what the hunter's could do to somebody, no matter how powerful. Scratch that, they knew what the hunter's life _would_ do, and it was no place for a Guardian of fun.

"So…you got outdone by an angel," Crowley sighed, looking into his blood bowl.

"It's not like he caught him," Abadon said with a sneer.

"But he _found_ him!" Crowley thundered, slamming his fist on a table. "Who do you think is ahead in the race? You!? If we let heaven brainwash that kid…!"

"He stops believing and our problems are solved anyway," Abadon interrupted.

"You _bitch!_" Crowley yelled. "That's only half of it! If he's brainwashed then the whole Guardian issue drops! But if we kill it and drag his soul to hell we can turn him into a demon and he can kill the Guardians along with us! They'll be crushed! We can win without even a fight! We can…hello? Hello!" He called, and then cursed again, flicking the blood away. "Damn bitch hung up on me. If she wasn't so powerful I'd…" he growled, clenching his fist.

"Goodness," a voice sighed from behind. "Somebody's having staff issue," Crowley turned around, and literally starred Death in the face. The horseman sighed, rubbing his fingers together. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

Crowley shrugged, not one to disrespect a Legend like Death. "Of course,"

"You…may have noticed that I am a little more…separate from my brothers,"

Crowley opened his mouth, hesitant. "Yes… I do."

"Like the other Legends I was brought into the world by the Moon, like all Legends I have the potential to become a Guardian,"

"Oh god," Crowley groaned. "Please don't do that,"

Death shrugged. "I don't decide such things, but I do have ways to sway the Moon's decision."

"Oh… I see," Crowley said, smiling a touch. "What did you have in mind?"

Death wiped the corners of his mouth with a white cloth. "You do your thing, I do mine, just keep this a secret and make sure your men know I'll be moving about."

"And how can I trust you?" Crowley asked suspiciously.

Death shrugged again. "Why would I lie about something like this? My scythe can kill those Guardians faster than a Winchester decapitates a vampire. Do you want my help or not?"

Crowley help up his hands, "I wouldn't dream of getting in your way good sir, you're welcome to do your work."

Death rubbed his hands together, "Jolly good, good bye Mr. Crowley."

Crowley watched him leave, standing in silence for a moment, before slowly opening his mouth and clenching his fists. "Yes...!" he hissed, gritting his teeth together. "About damn time!"


	23. Part 3 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Pitch stretched his arms from where he had been catching a cat nap. He rubbed his lower back and stood up, looking around the warren. He pressed his lips together, thinking, and then strode over to the tunnels. Jack dropped down in front of him. "I need to talk to you!" he said quickly and Pitch jumped backwards. Jack blinked, and then grinned slyly. "Did I scare you?" he asked, and Pitch snarled at him.

"No!" he snapped. "Now get out of the way I need to go run a routine check."

"Yeah, yeah I know," Jack muttered, knocking a stone away with his staff. "Look I know my last question was a little abrupt but I really, really, need an answer."

Pitch let out a tremendous sigh. "Fine…! What…?"

Jack inhaled, holding out his hands. "Alight, I get it your past is a touchy subject, but hear me out. I'm not prying; I just…want to know how you're different."

Pitch raised one eyebrow. "Different?"

Jack licked his lips. "Tooth and I got talking a little bit ago. We know your relationship with Mother Nature of course but…" he grumbled a little, rubbing his head, trying to form the right words. "We…can't have kids, so how are you different."

Pitch folded his arms, and then gave a tiny scoff of a laugh. "A kid?" he said. "Are you serious?"

Jack looked offended. "Yes I am serious!"

"Why?" Pitch asked, his teeth showing in a tiny grin. "What you two had a little crush on each other last year; it's been 'official' for barely a month and you're talking about having _a kid?_"

Jack was quickly losing his patience. "Just what are you getting at?"

"You!" Pitch said, throwing up a hand. "Her!" he spread his arms. "This! This whole situation we're in."

"Yeah well we're not like humans!" Jack challenged. "We don't get to date and court or get married. We are immortals that'll be stuck in the same gig our whole life!"

"Oh and bringing a kid into all of this will make that better," Pitch muttered.

"What is wrong with you?!" Jack half screamed, tears brimming at his eyes. "Tooth and I may love that gig, but you know what? I've been around for _three hundred years_! And Tooth's been around for centuries more, only she's been wanting to be a mother the whole time! Yeah sure it's out of the blue but I already burned up decades that I could have spent with all of you so I'm making up for lost time!"

Pitch leaned on the wall of the tunnel. "You're not doing this for you…" he said and Jack glared at him. "Sure you think being a dad would be 'cool' and 'fun,'" his face soured. "Two things you always capitalize on. But really, deep down, you only want this because she does."

"And what's wrong with _that!"_ Jack yelled, his echo bouncing off the tunnels as silence ensued.

Pitch starred at him, his face grave, back straight. "Forever is great Jack," he said quietly. "But the problem with it is that it gives the ugly ones, the ones like Crowley, to come up with a way to kill the ones you hold dearest." For a moment the dark man's voice caught, and he turned away from Jack. He blinked his sulfurous eyes, eyes that were now misty as well. "Take my advice Jack, give this a few years, get past the 'I want to be a daddy' stage. You'll be better off," he started to walk away, but Jack called after him.

"Answer my question," he called, a tear running down his face and his voice thick.

The Boogyman turned back. "I just can Jack, and you just can't. You are a frozen corps that can't even warm somebody's hand much less give life to a child. And Tooth…"

"Shut up!" Jack growled, his eyes flaring.

"Is not even your species," Pitch finished. He stood there in silence, and then his lips trembled, faintly, and only once, before he hardened his exterior again. "I'm sorry."

Jack gasped, looking up as Pitch vanished from view. His eyes blurred, and he hunched down against the wall of the tunnel, pulling his hood over his head, and crying into his arms.

Pitch stepped into his layer, summoning a nightmare and attaching a note to it. "See to it that North get's that note. It'll let him know I'm just taking care of my Limbo duties and that I'll be back soon," the black horse snorted, dashing away as Pitch walked up to the wardrobe. He hesitated at the door, his pale hands spread over the wood, "and nightmare," he said, the bad dream appearing beside him. He turned to it, with another note. "Deliver that to Cas the angel," the specter disappeared once more. He turned back to the doors, he felt one tear form at the corner of his eye, but he dashed it away before it could escape, and he pushed his way in. Meg was inside with the others of course, but the reawakened hurt in Pitch was seething from him. He was sensitive and they knew it, they could feel it. One wrong move, and who knew how many of them would get thrown into the silence. Pitch did his best to be benevolent in his rule over these souls, but only one with zero tolerance for disrespect. He rough organized more of the wandering souls into groups, and then stormed out, slamming the doors behind him. Meg watched him as he went, her eye twitching when he slammed the door. "Did you tell Clarence yet?" she asked, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

He strode out, sliding into the shadows to get himself back to the warren. He rose up out of a shady area, smoothing his hair back. He came up face to face with Sam, murder written in the Winchester's eyes. "What?" Pitch asked dully. Sam's fist hit him square in the face and the Boogyman staggered back, shaking his head. He rubbed his nose. "Jeez!" he said, looking up with a sneer curling at his upper lip.

Sam got right in his face. "What did you say to him?" he said in a low, dark voice.

"Pardon?" Pitch asked, and got hit again.

"Jack you son of bitch!" Sam growled. "The kid had his hood up and made sure we couldn't see his eyes before flying away. I was with the others, the only one who was missing was you," he said darkly. "Now what did you say?"

"Look," Pitch said, dusting himself off. "I don't have the time or the energy to show you how easily I can kick your butt so…" '_wham!'_ another blow. This time he stepped back, gripping his nose and holding up a finger. "Ok hold it for just a minute,"

Sam grabbed him by his collar. "You're on their side right? So why making so many enemies? Or is that just how you tell people you want to be friends?"

"I should say the same for you." Pitch said, grasping his wrist with surprising strength.

"What do you mean?" Sam said dangerously.

"Oh please," Pitch said, rolling his eyes. "You mean you haven't seen it? North splattering the Piper's brain fluids onto the bark of a tree? Tooth butchering and snapping the necks of an entire crew of pirate, before impaling the captain to the mast and letting him hang there until he screamed his surrender? Jack…sending volts of icy electricity mercilessly through Crowley?"

"So what?" Sam spat.

"So!?" Pitch shoved away from him. "I'll tell you something in the same way I told Jack, like it is, brutal…honesty!" he said venomously. "Oh sure there's nothing wrong with how they're now smashing up their victims, to you! Like how your brother slashed up Goatman, who was unarmed and trying to scramble away. We might be willing to kill to protect, but how they are it doing it is becoming more and more like how _you _are doing it." Those last words hit Sam hard, and his arms fell away. Pitch circled him, arms behind his back. "You two are poisoning them, and North sees it, I see it, pretty much everybody can see it except for Jack. He wants to help you," he said, sticking out his lower lip slightly. "But in doing so, heck, in just being with you two sorry sores will sap out his fun and replace it with a cold, killing machine." He clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder, leaning over so he could look him in the eye. "So yeah I don't get points for gentleness," he stepped back, almost gliding over the ground. "But I get my job done…feeling scared? Sam?"

Sam's eyes glance behind him, and he turned around, squinting. "Ok…" he nodded, still looking pissed. "That last part made sense. What about Jack, did you have to scare him? Or was all that just you throwing a diva fit that he took the brunt of?"

"Scaring takes many forms Sam," Pitch said, fading into the shadows. "Taking away hope is just happens to be one."

Jack sat alone on the edge of a waterfall, the hole to the warren beside him. A small handful of pebbles were clutched in his hand, and he tossed one over into the misty abyss every once in a while. He inhaled deeply, his eyes red from crying, but his chest and heart slowly starting to relax. "Maybe," he choked. "Pitch was right…I mean, what was I thinking? Talking about starting a family so soon, and at what a time to!" he laughed humorlessly, throwing the fistful over the edge roughly. "As if we didn't have enough problems." Jack sniffed, starring off at the nothingness bellow. "It's my fault." He said. "There's nothing wrong with her," he gritted his teeth, standing up. Then Jack began screaming, swinging his staff and beating his hands on the ground, tears streaming down his face. _"Always! Always! Always! It's always my fault! Sandy! Easter! Baby Tooth! This! All of this! Why is always_…me." His voice trailed off, his voice becoming quiet. "I don't mean to mess things up, not like this." He swallowed. As he stood there, Sam quietly stepped up beside him.

The younger Winchester carefully gripped his shoulder as Jack starred silently at the sunset, a tear drying on his cheek. "I'm sorry about what happened." Sam sighed, giving him a gentle squeeze.

Jack looked up at him, and then nuzzled his face into his side. He wrapped his arms around his middle. "I just…I just want to be as compulsive and reckless like I always am, and not always wreck things." He looked up at him. "Because that's what I am! Fun! Reckless and irresponsible! But I want to do good things all the same.

Sam exhaled through his nose, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Yeah. You will buddy, I know you will,"

Jack nodded. "And you know what else I am?"

"What's that Jack?"

An ice spike stabbed through Sam's hand, crunching the small bones inside. The man screamed loudly, gripping his hand and taking a step back. Jack swung his staff, freezing his head in a block of ice, pulling him down and looking right into his eyes. "Demon radar." He said darkly. Abadon, her true form showing gave the ice spirit a death glare. Jack stepped back, knocking the demon across the head, tipping her over the edge of the falls. He turned his head as she fell, his red and irritated eyes frowning, seeing black smoke making its way towards him. He hopped into the hole, the entrance closing behind him.


	24. Part 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jack slid into the warren, trotting a few steps before coming to a halt in front of the others. "Demons are attacking," he said. "The hole closed up behind me but I think they're gaining access."

"Here we go again," Bunny huffed. "First Jonah and now this?"

"It's a race," Dean said, heaving up Jamie and tossing him into Sandy's arms, who immediately wrapped himself in a cloud of dream sand and vanished. "Abadon doesn't want to get outdone by angels, this is how it's going to be over and over until we kill them!"

"Yes but we can't do that until we get them out of the children's bodies," North reminded, pulling out his swords.

"You want to take out an army, take out the General," Jack said. "Abadon might be dead,"

"What?" Dean asked, Sam running onto the scene with Pitch.

"She disguised herself as Sam to trick me, I knew she was a demon and attack her."

"Give us details," Sam said. "We need to know exactly what you did."

"I stabbed her through the hand, froze her head, and then tipped her over a cliff,"

Dean snorted. "Well I got bad news for you kid, she aint dead."

Sam frowned, slowly turning to Jack. "Wait…how could you tell it was a disguise instead of my vessel?"

There was a moment of silence, a slight rumble rolling through the warren. Sam's eyes widened slightly in question. Jack opened his mouth, and then frowned, looking away in thought. "Oh my god," Dean groaned.

"Well," Pitch said, pulling out his scythe. "Can't say I didn't warn you," he looked over at North and Tooth, "_any of you,_" he emphasized.

With another rumble sounded they all raised their weapons. Through the darkness, a figure approached the light of the warren. But instead of Abadon coming out, it was Shmidly. He was wearing a teenaged boy's skin now and had a nasty grin on his face, hands behind his back. "Hello Bugs," he said to Bunnymund. "Good thing I was able to get a look at your tunnels, I figured out how to get in." he looked over at Jack. "Thanks for making a fresh opening.

Jack grimaced but Bunny stuck out a paw. "It's not your fault, we've all been getting some air."

"We're not here to ransack, or even fight you," Shmidly said, Abadon appearing behind him. "That's why we came alone. We're just here to deliver a message." Shmidly rolled his neck, a poor attempt at imitating Crowley. "But before we get talking," he unzipped his pants and urinated in front of them, sneaking a glance at Bunny, who looked like he was about to explode with rage. "Your flower needed water," he said, fixing his pants.

Abadon tossed her head, shoving past Shmidly. "What's this?" she asked. "You're not even going to let us meet Jamie? That could be dangerous, with him not knowing what we look like."

"Jamie's a smart kid," Jack said darkly, his fingers working at the wood of his staff. "All he would have to do is look at you and he would know that he was in danger."

"What is your message?" North asked.

Abadon laughed, placing a hand on her hip. "Crowley wanted me to let you know that we have another ally…Death."

Dean's eyes widened and he lowered his gun. "Death?"

"The Grim Reaper?" North breathed. "He would never…!"

"Of course we would you ass," Abadon chuckled. "Crowley can make magic that allows us to take different forms, but it takes a lot of work that doesn't last very long. Death just gave us a whole load of the stuff to show his loyalties. After all, death comes in many forms, doesn't it?"

"That's right!" Shmidly said, butting in. "So you may as well give up the child and saves yourselves the pain!"

"I'd like to take you all on now; I have some news moves I'm just dying to try." Abadon preened, stretching her arms over her head. "But orders are orders, and Crowley is being a little shit right now,"

Tooth landed quietly in front of the group. "I think it's time you left." She said, eyes narrowed.

Abadon huffed. "Come on Shmid," she sighed, striding back out of the warren, Bunny sealing the way behind them.

"Here ya go," a waiter said, setting a cup of coffee down in front of Cas.

He looked up, smiling briefly and took the cup. "Thank you…my god sir."

The waiter stared at him, and then turned, walking off. "Whatever," he sang slightly.

Cas took a drink, and when he set the cup down, Naomi was sitting in front of him. He nearly choked. "Wasting your time and money Casteil?" she asked bitterly.

"Human's often have coffee to blend into social crowds," Cas replied. "Just standing somewhere was making them suspicious."

"Hello darling," Crowley, appearing in the other seat and Naomi jumped. "Cas, good to see you, how's the boyfriend?"

"What are you doing here!?" Naomi hissed, teeth barred.

"Well I needed to talk to you, so I figured we could merge our discussions," Crowley said sweetly.

A nightmare appeared next to Cas, bearing a note. "Excuse me," Cas said, shooting the two of the a dirty look and taking the note.

"Cas sweetheart would you please do me the favor of telling Mr. Bitch Black something for me?" Crowley asked, leaning on his hands. "That is while I debate the tedious and potentially repetitive situation we are facing with this angel and demon race?"

Cas was staring dumbly at the note, and the he stood up. "Yes…" he stammered. "Yes, I will go to his layer right now."

"Casteil you do not take orders from demons you take orders from me!" Naomi yelled, slamming her hands on the table.

"I'll be right back," Cas said quickly, disappearing.

"Casteil!" Naomi thundered, standing up.

She felt Crowley take her wrist, looking up at her. "Now, now, we still have something to discuss."

Cas flew as fast as he could, so he got to Pitch's layer in less than a second. He landed in the middle of his floor, looking around. He saw Pitch stepping backwards out of the wardrobe, motioning. "Just get out here!" he said irritably.

"Alright, alright grumpy puss," Meg sighed, stepping out moodily, and then stopping, starring ahead of her as Pitch walked back into Limbo, unceremoniously closing the doors behind him. Her shoulders slowly lowered. "Hey Clarence," she said quietly.

"Meg," Cas said, swallowing. "I uh…did not realize you where alive." She gave him a look and Cas winched. "That was a poor choice of words, what I meant was…"

"Clarence," Meg said, walking over to him and brushing some hair away from his face. "My unicorn." She said distractedly.

Cas swallowed again, and then leaned down, wrapping his arms around her. Pitch's yellow eye starred at them through the key hole, narrowing slightly as a wound on the back of Meg's neck closed over.

Hours past, and soon Cas found himself sitting, his back leaned on a stone, Meg curled up beside him. They had been sitting and talking like this for a while now, Cas regaling his tale, and Meg telling snippets of what had been happening to her. "Naomi," Cas said cautiously. "Is forcing me to be a flare gun for her, so I have been avoid them, because I do not know when she will want me to give them away."

"Gee what a bitch," Meg mumbled into his side. "Doesn't make much of a difference though does it?"

"What?"

"You'll have to go to them anyway, and the time she picked his final."

Cas sighed. "I left because my reappearance would be all the warning they would need."

"Good point," Meg said, lifting her head up and tossing her hair. "Well that sucks, so what are you going to do?"

Cas looked away. "I do not know,"

"Well you can't just sit around, and as much as I want to have you here, you can't spend all your time in Princess Pitch's castle, he'll throw you out."

"They already have wards against me,"

"Those can be cheated and you know it," Meg said, sitting up, one hand running down his arm. "You need to do something Cas to help them. Now I don't really care about them mind you, but I do hate Crowley. So...?"

Cas licked his lips. "I suppose I can find a way to expose a weakness in heaven's security, making it possible to infiltrate Naomi's quarters."

"Now your thinking," Meg said, her eyes closing slightly and head leaning up towards Cas's.

Pitch burst out of the wardrobe. "What do you say?" he asked, and Meg jerked away, shooting him a glare that could have melted titanium.

Cas blinked. "break into Naomi's office?"

Pitch grinned wickedly. "Yes," he said. "That…"


	25. Part 3 Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A shadow formed in the corner of one of the white walls of heaven's corridors, the Boogyman looming out of them. Cas knew how to get into heaven, and it didn't take too much for Pitch to piece together what he had told him, and modify it so he could gain access to the restricted area. He smoothed his hair back as he stepped through, taking in his surroundings. _"If I get enough information here,"_ Pitch thought to himself. _"I can have a little sabotage fun and stops at least heavens pursuit of Jamie," _he worked his jaw. "Not that I particularly care," he mumbled, shifting once. "And besides," his eyes narrowed. "I have a score to settle with the whale man,"

"Crowley is going to flood the warren with shadow," Pitch heard Naomi's voice from around the corner and his frown deepened. He snuck closer, peeking around, and seeing Naomi speaking with Jonah and twenty other angels. "I know you want to outdo Abadon but if we keep doing this then it will be a never ending ping pong match. We will always catch up, and they will always get away, it can't stay like this. By flooding the warren they will be blinded and forced to flee. They will seek shelter elsewhere but at that point Death with intervene to collect the child. This is the agreement between Crowley and I," Naomi sighed, looking only slightly annoyed. "Death with wipe the boy's memory, he stops believing, we take out the Guardians."

"But the boy will no longer become our preacher," Jonah said in a deep throated voice.

"Neither will be become an unstoppable demon," Naomi countered. "Both sides win, both sides loose," she paused and then added. "Oh, and the fog will be poisoned as well, this way Jamie will be badly burned, and they will be forced to seek the healing abilities of an angel. If it is one of us we have an opportunity to double cross Crowley, if it is Castiel we have out beacon and can attack."

An sudden, and slightly surprising flash of red hot anger flared in Pitch's chest and he rubbed his fingers together, an arrow forming in his hand. "Take out the general," he murmured, grinning. He pulled back on the invisible string silently, taking a small step sideways and targeting Naomi. He let the arrow fly, but Naomi caught him out of the corner of her vision, ducking, the projectile smacking into the white wall behind her. The angels converged on the Booyman, but Pitch only laughed, sinking into the ground. But to his great surprise, he dropped back down in front of them. "Silly Guardian," Naomi said. "There are no dark places in heaven, you have no way to access your layer."

"No!" Pitch said, turning to run, but was caught by Jonah by the head. White light poured from his eyes and he struggled. He faded away and Pitch stuck the large angel, scrambling to get away. Jonah used his smiting abilities on him again, and then a third time. He was barely hurting Pitch, but it was wearing him out.

"Quite wasting time and stop him!" Naomi shrieked.

Kicking his leg, Pitch was hauled into the air, light pouring from his mouth and eyes and Jonah slammed him into the wall.

"The warren will hold," Bunny assured the others, heaving a sigh. "We just need to stay down under for a while,"

Dean nodded, cocking his head once. "I wonder how Cas is holding up," he said.

"Me too," Sam admitted. "I feel bad that we have to keep him warded away,"

"It wouldn't be as bad if we were actually thinking of a trap," Dean grunted.

"Oi," Bunny said, pointing a boomerang at him. "We are doing our best."

"But we are also pressed for time," Sam reminded him. "Cas is being treated like a time bomb, Kevin is stuck back at the bunker, and the yeti's aren't going to be able to pull Christmas off if this keeps up."

"Not to mention Tooth's fairies," Dean added. "Face it you all are pressed for time because we have to keep the kid safe. It's all going to fall apart soon if we don't get our shit together."

Bunny's shoulders lowered, "You're right," he sighed, sadly looking over at North, he was obviously struggling with the prospect of failing the children. "We just have to have hope,"

Sandy had brought Jamie back by this point, and he and Jack were sitting together next to a small creek. Jack was freezing little patches of it to entertain the boy, but after awhile his mind began to wander. "Pitch has been gone for a while now," Jamie wondered aloud.

"Yeah big surprise," Jack muttered, suddenly looking sullen.

Jamie glanced at him, and then crawled over to him, taking his sleeve. "I know he said some mean things to you Jack," he said. "But he's so scared. He wants to be accepted, he wants to be friends but he is afraid he'll lose himself doing so. You have to help him."

Jack looked over and down at him, bumping him with one arm. "I'll try,"

Jamie smiled, and then looked over at where Tooth was buzzing around chatting with Sandy. "Are you gonna marry Tooth one day?" he asked, and Jack's ice magic went awry, a chuck of ice forming in the stream instead of a pretty frost pattern.

He jumped away from Jamie and looked down at him as if the child had just confessed to the cannibalistic murder of a Christmas elf. "Wait what I!"

Jamie began laughing, holding his sides and rolling around on the ground, Jack continued to stare at him in horror. He got up, bouncing a little and shoving his arm playfully. "Come on," he giggled. "Have fun Jack." Jack blinked, he began to smile a little, but then it faltered when he saw Dean and Sam attempting to work out a plan in the sand. He gripped Jamie hands, "hold on a second," he said, standing up, and hurrying over. Jamie watched him go, his face fell a little. He got up, dusting off his pajama bottoms. He watched as the three of them talk back and forth, attempting to find a way to get out of this situation. He inhaled deeply, getting a determined look on his face. "Hey!" he called, and everybody looked at him. "Did you guys forget that Pitch is still missing? He was supposed to be back hours ago!"

"He's probably just doing Boogyman things," North said, shrugging.  
"Maybe," Jamie said. "But he's supposed to be doing Guardian things and helping out here."

"Jamie," Tooth said gently, floating down next to him and resting a tiny hand on his arm. "Maybe this is a good time for Pitch to be doing his own thing, that way we can think of a plan,"

"You gotta admit," Bunny said, "He doesn't exactly make the best of company."

Jamie starred at him and then looked up at Tooth, she shrugged slightly with an apologetic grimace. Jamie's head quickly turned to Jack, who's face hardened just at the mention of him. He frowned deeply, pulling away from Tooth. "I can't believe you guys," he said quietly, running off.

"Jamie!" Bunny called. "Don't run off alone!"

Jamie turned around, "Then Sandman can come with me, but not any of you."

Tooth's feet hit the ground like a stone and Bunny kind of just sank back onto his haunches, looking stunned. "Ouch," Dean said, rubbing his chin. "You done fuck up," he muttered, walking away.

"Hey excuse me!" Jack called after him. "We tried ok?"

"We'll either your wrong or he is," Dean called over his shoulder.

"Why are you defending Pitch?" Jack spat. "You don't even like him!"

But Dean didn't answer, and Sam was so shocked at the sudden escalation of the situation, that he remained speechless.

Pitch let out a long, agonized yell, barring his teeth as the angel blade cut another long slit in his back. He had been secured to the chair backwards and now Naomi was cutting into him, seeking to get answers. The light faded from the wound, the gray flesh under it sizzling slightly. Naomi would watch carefully, the moment on of the old wounds was able to lightly close itself up she would slice it open again. "How did you get in here!" she demanded, smacking the side of the blade across Pitch's head.

Pitch heaved, inhaling shakily. "I was teleported,"

"You saying that but it tells me nothing!" Naomi reminded him. "Let's try another question, your globe. How did you get that?"

"I made it, just as North made his." Pitch breathed. "It took me decades."

"How did you get it to light up?"

"Look I know you would love to have one for yourself," Pitch said with a sneer. "But as far as I can it it's just because the Moon wanted me to know where all the little brats where."

"Well how can I speak to the Moon," Naomi said diplomatically. "I'm sure he would be interested in helping heaven." Pitch only scoffed, muttering under his breath. Naomi licked her lips. "On to the next question, why did you come here? Obviously you thought escape would be easy, but there must have been another reason."

"Well," Pitch said with a weak smirk. "I did think killing you would help my cause," he howled as another cut was put in his back. "Also," he hissed. "I could find out your end game, and put a stop to this."

Naomi laughed. "Even if you did warn them it would have done no good, as long as we have vessels, especially a child's, we are unstoppable." She paced around. "So you risked everything, just to spy, just to try to take me out. And for what? You?"

"Ha!" Pitch laughed. "You don't bother me angel!" he growled.

Naomi leaned back. "Then it was for them after all," Pitch blinked and he looked away, his mind now racing. Naomi crouched in front of him. "You just now realized that you did this for them," he laughed slightly. "You really do care about all of those stupid kids," Pitch's head sagged, his mouth moving slightly. "What?" he said, grabbing his hair and yanking him up to look at her.

"Fear…" Pitch said, his voice groggy. "Fear protects…fear controls. Children must be protected and controlled."

Naomi tisked her tongue. "Scaring little kids, shameful."

Pitch gave a thin smile. "Not all children are nice, some of them are naughty. Naughty enough to get a lump of coal, naughty enough to have a nightmare." He barred his teeth in an ugly grin. "Both which inspires them to be better." He laughed once, breaking eye contact as if he forgot Naomi was even there. "That's it! I knew Jack was missing something." He looked up at her. "I can always be who I am, because I am either protecting the good children, or controlling the naughty ones!"

Naomi frowned a little, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter," she reminded him as another angel stepped in, carrying the drill. Naomi grabbed Pitch, unlocking his restraints and roughly turning him onto his wounded back, clicking the cuffs closed again. She picked up the drill. "It doesn't matter because you are powerful. To powerful to bother caring about little kids…so." She clicked the drill on. "You may as well stay and help heavens cause, at least you'll be able to kill a Guardian easier."

Pitch licked his lips. "You know it's funny, you said there was no escape because there are no dark places in heaven. Well…" he leaned up, jutting out his chin. "What if I brought my own?"

"What?!" Naomi said, but was suddenly blasted back by a pulse of black sand, the cuff restraining him bursting open. All while he was being tortured, Pitch had been forming sand between his wrists and Naomi's cuffs. Now it had burst out, freeing him, and temporarily blinding the head interrogator of heaven. "Ah!" he grunted, rubbing her eyes. "Stop him from escaping! Don't let him make a shadow!"

The other angel charged Pitch and the Boogyman dove for a corner, his sand starting to make some darkness. But the angel caught him around his middle, and the two of the spun into the portal. They appeared in a lower section of heaven, rolling down a pearly staircase. Pitch punched the angel across the face, this opponent digging his fingers into his wounded back. Pitch grunted, the two of them vanishing again, falling through the ceiling of Pitch's layer, through the floor, and back into heaven. All the while the two of them fought, the angel, in the form of a teenage girl, bit Pitch savagely. Yelling in angry pain, Pitch grabbed either side of its head, darkness emanating off him and beginning to surround them. Yelling loudly and determinedly, Pitch shoved his foe downward, the two of them falling into darkness. At first it felt like they were falling down, and then sideways. Pitch looked up, seeing them rapidly speeding towards the closed stone of one of Bunnymunds tunnels. His eyes widened, and his yell turned into one of fear of an impending, and most undoubtedly painful, collision.

Inside the warren, Jamie sat sadly next to Sandy, picking at little bits of grass. "It's not fair how they treat Pitch. It's not like they're being openly mean to him, but they didn't even go look for him when he could be in trouble."

Sand rubbed his chin, and then nodded sagely.

"I don't know," Jamie said with a shrug. "I just think they haven't really let go of all that he did." He leaned against Sandy, giving him a hug. "But I did, he was just like Jack, he wanted to believe in, but refused to go get help." He sighed. "I wish he was here so I could tell him it's ok."

The rock in front of them exploded! Rocks flew in all directions as Sandy brought up a protective dome around Jamie faster than lighting strikes a tree top. The demon slid on its face, coming to a stop in front of them. Sandy blinked down at it, and lifted its chin, he gasped silently, and then picked her, checking her over. Aside from a few bruises she was fine, but was out cold. "What is it?" Jamie asked. But Sandy just shook his head, an image of a winged person appearing over his head and then getting crossed out. Jamie blinked. "It's not an angel?"

Sandy nodded.  
"It's just a person?!" Jamie said.

Sandy nodded again.

"But then," Jamie looked up, just in time to see Pitch stagger to his feet, an glowing, yet dangerous looking form caught tight in his grip. "Whoa!" He yelled. "You pulled an angel out of a kid! How did you do that Pitch?!" he said excitedly.

Pitch blinked, looked down at the wheezing form. "I haven't the foggiest."


	26. Part 3 Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Tooth flew carefully flew over to Jack, who was sitting on top of a mossy rock, his legs pulled up to his chest. Her lips tightened, and she let out a silent exhale. "You're losing yourself Jack," she said quietly and the boy turned around.

"What?"

"You're losing yourself,"

Jack shook his head, turning away. "I'm having a bad day."

"No," Tooth said. "This is different, you are placing too much responsibility in yourself, you're ripping yourself up over something that's not your fault and worst of all…" her hands folded. "You've stopped having fun."

Jack didn't answer and she sat next to him, taking his hand. They sat in silence for a moment, and then Jack quietly spoke. "Being a frozen corps…" he said, grimacing slightly. "makes it a little tough to start a family."

"Well being a bird hybrid probably doesn't help either." Tooth reminded, putting a little bit of cheer into her voice and was pleased to see Jack smile a touch. She cupped his face, looking him in the eye. "We have all the kids of the world, you have a dad now, an brother you always fight with, an awesome uncle, and a creepy neighbor that just needs to be adopted." Jack starred at her. "And a wife," she added happily, and then smoothed back some of her feathers. "sort of," she amended quietly.

Jack mouth the word 'what' silently, trying to piece together what she was talking about. Then he thought of North, the closest thing he had to a dad, Bunny, the closeting thing he had to a brother, Pitch was obviously the creepy neighbor, leaving Sandy to be his 'uncle.' "Well I know we're all a family but, I never really thought of it that way before."

Tooth kissed his forehead. "We can talk about the rest later," she floated upwards. "For now, I'm going to look for Pitch,"

"Wait!" Jack said, standing up. "The part about me losing myself, what was that all about?"

Tooth waved a finger. "You don't need me to tell you what, you know what's going on. But, should you be thick and not figure it out." She blew him a kiss, "Then I'll spell it out for you." With that she buzzed off, right into Pitch's chest. She staggered backwards, holding her head. "Ow oh! Pitch! You're ok!"

"Um…" Pitch said, the last of his injuries closing over.

Tooth took his hands, spinning him around. "Pitch I'm sorry we didn't look for you we we're real idiots but Jamie got some sense into us so I was just on my to try and find out where you had disappeared to but here you are I gotta tell the others and then we have some real talking to do I'm after all you part of the family…"

Pitch jerked away from her, dusting off his hands. "Just…!" he said, wringing his hands. "Stop for a second…" he twisted his mouth to the side. "And try breathing between sentences." Tooth inhaled deeply. "Thank you, Tooth. I uh…was just wondering if I could speak to Jack."

"Oh," Tooth said. "Sure, I'll let the other's know you made it back. She started to fly away but Pitch called after her. "Oh and Tooth!"

"Yes?"

He clicked his teeth together. "Tell everybody to evacuate, the warren is about to be flooded with poisonous smoke."

Tooth opened her mouth, taking a bit by surprise. "Oh…right, naturally that would be a reasonable thing to do so…I'll get right to it."

She zipped off and Pitch and Jack stood beside each other in silence. Jack heaved a sigh, hopping off of his rock. "I owe you an apology Pitch. I didn't go looking for you when you could have been in big trouble. I was angry at you which!" he held up a finger. "You were a total bastard to me but I nearly endangered you because I was mad and that was not right. So…I'm sorry."

Pitch turned around to face him, his face almost sympathetic. "I understand why none of you want me around…"

Jack interrupted him. "Pitch, you will always be a guy that likes his alone time and that's fine. You will always be awkward because you want to be believed in but you don't want all the warm fuzzes that go with it. But you know, you and I are alike, and Manny did choose you. I believe in you Pitch."

Pitch's mouth opened and closed a few times and he inhaled sharply. "Now look here, I'm the one who came to apologize and you turned it on me, so listen up. I was wrong and stupid you talk to you the way you did when you where just looking to…well, start a family." He grimaced slightly, but then fixed his face. "You see I had a family and lost it. Being immortal you can never had the dream of living with your loved one until old age claims the both of you. It either ends with the earth or with tragedy."

"You got tragedy?" Jack guessed and the Boogyman suddenly looked more venerable and hurt than he had ever before in his life.

"Yes," he said foggily, inhaling shakily. "I took you for an idiot for even entertaining the idea, and granted, I still think you are, but I tore you down for trying something I myself could not do, and for that…" he opened his mouth, his fingers working at the air. "I am in regret," he grunted and turned his head. "I feel remorse," he rolled his eyes as if frustrated with himself and tried again. "I…am…deeply, and truthfully," his lips trembled. "feeling like I spoke out of place damn!" he said right away, turning around.

"Wow, this is just painful," Jack said, leaning on his staff. "Alright I get it, you're sorry."

"Yes!" Pitch said, turning around and pointing a finger. "I'm sorry!" he blinked, and then nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry." He breathed in sharply, and then shrugged. "Mostly because, in all reality, I couldn't actually help you, but I made it hard on you anyway. I'm sorry Jack, but between you being dead and Tooth being what she is, your own child…" he folded his hands as Jack looked down sadly. "Is not possible."

Jack nodded a few times, and then sniffed, raising his head. "It's ok, I still have a family, and all the children I could want." He stepped closer. "We both do,"

Pitch opened his mouth again, but carefully closed it. "I suppose so…" He smirked. "Done with that," he declared. "Moving on,"

Jack huffed a small laugh, shaking his head again. "Fine," he relented. "So what was this about poisonous smoke?" Pitch shrugged mildly and then pointed behind him. When Jack looked, he saw a wall of demon smoke slowly filling the warren. The eggs were seeking shelter, and even the insects had made a mass exodus out of the tunnels. Jack's face hardened when he saw the grass and flowers dying around the smoke screen. "Let's go then," he said darkly, he and Pitch leaving the scene.

"What is that?" North said, mystified at the sight in front of him. The angel's soul was not in its classic white smoke like form. Instead, it was a human shaped, female, and had neither hair nor cloths. However, its skin almost looked metallic, and was shinning with holy white light, yellow orb like eyes glowing like the sun. The figure straightened, taking in its surroundings. They were in a sealed tunnel underground, Pitch, North and the Winchesters were with the angel, the others were above ground.

"An angel," Pitch said. "Apparently I can scare them right out of their skin." He snuck a glance over at the unconscious girl behind them. He picked her up and handed her to North. "You best get her home."

"Yes," North sighed, stroking the girl's hair. "She has been through enough poor child." He hesitated. "What will you do with angel?"

"Crowley and Naomi can't know that Pitch has this ability," Dean said simply.

"Relax North," Pitch assured him. "I'm just going to take her down to Limbo, it'll be painless and there won't be that messy trauma of dying moment."

North snorted through his nose, giving a nod. "So be it."

As North left, Pitch grabbed the back of the angel's neck. "You two get above ground, I'll catch up." With that he sunk into the ground with the angel, appearing in his layer and hoisting her over to the open wardrobe doors.

"You will fail Boogyman," she said, catching his wrist. "You cannot defeat heaven."

"You know for last words you picked an awful cliché," he tossed her in and she staggered a few steps, the light fading from her form and taking on the appearance of the last vessel she had possessed."

She turned around, tossing her head. "Now what?"

"Nothing," Pitch said, raising one shoulder and dropping it. "You literally just died."

The group sat idly in front of a camp fire later that evening, starring wide eyed at the coals and reflecting on the day's events. The Guardians had made peace with Pitch, who had accepted their apologies, implied that he had his own, and then put it in the past. Bunny was fuming over what had happened to his warren, but Jamie, no longer mad at any of them, was doing his best to comfort him, which helped a good deal. "This is kinda like a camping trip," Jamie said, looking up at them all.

"Yeah," Dean muttered, tossing a stick into the flames. "Good thing it's warm in Australia," Dean gazed at the stars over head.

"Do we have any food?" Jamie asked, his stomach making small grumbling noises. Sam dug into his large pockets, producing some beef jerky and tossing it to him. Jamie caught it with a smile, taking out a piece and starting to suck on it. He held the bag out back towards him.

Sam waved a hand. "Have your fill first. Dean and I will get food tomorrow when we get moving again."

They sat in silence again, the sounds of the night surrounding them. Bunny grunted. "When I get my hands on those demons I'll knock em flat."

There was a general murmur of agreement, and then silence fell again. Sam licked his lip and Dean tossed another stick into the fire. Jamie yawned, shook his head, and then crawled over to North, patting his knee. "Tell us a story Santa," he said.

"What?" Dean said and Jamie turned to face him.

"It's a good time for a camp fire story," Jamie said.

"Oh I love these," Pitch preened, standing up and getting a blissful look.

"Sit down," Tooth said flatly. "He wants a nice story,"

Pitch plopped himself back in the dust with a huff, the wind taken from his sails. North hummed, stroking his beard. "A story you say?"

"Yeah!" Jamie said excitedly, bouncing a little. "We can all tell it!"

"How does this work?" Jack asked him, he himself shifting with anticipation.

"We each get a few sentences, something that moves the character to the next point in the story without over or under doing it." The boy explained. "You start North please?"

"Ok," North agreed, sitting the boy in his lap. "Very well, let me see hmmm. There was uh…there was once a elf. He was very big and strong, different from the other elves. We one day, he says to himself 'I think I will go on an adventure.' So he goes, and starts to get ready, pulling together his supplies."

He looked over at Dean and the man glanced at him blandly, he hadn't be paying attention. "Huh?"

"Dean it's your turn," Jamie laughed.

Dean blinked a few times. "Oh, right," he cleared his throat. "Well you see Twinky there, that's it's name. Decided he'd grab himself the essentials before leaving. So he packed food, water, a blanket, his pillow…"

"And stuffed animal!" Jamie piped in and Dean nodded, smiling.

"His stuffed animal, and a pack of condoms."

"Condoms?" Jamie said, looking confused.

"It was the special hat that Twinky wore on his head,"

"Dean!" Sam hissed, elbowing him and Dean grunted, rubbing his side.

"Anyway," the Winchester continued. "He set out on his journey, starting in Caesars Palace Las Vages,"

"Caesar…like the Roman Emperor?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah," Dean said. "It's where he went play games. He got money if he won games in a pool but had to spend money if he wanted to play something like patty cake,"

Sam reached over and plowed Dean over with one arm, shuffling over so he was next to Jamie. "Neither way," Sam said, meeting Jamie's eyes. "Twinky left that place _right away_," he glanced over at Dean with a growl. "And instead climbed a mountain."

"Wow," Jamie breathed.

"Yeah, and there, he saw a huge, golden temple."

Jack jumped up onto Sam's shoulders, cutting in for his art. "Inside there was a hotel manager. Twinky said 'do you have a place where I can stay?' and the manger said 'we only have one room left, you can have it, but whatever you do, don't open the closet door' so then Twinky said 'ok I won't.' He then left the manger, went up the stairs and into his room…" Dean and Sam didn't really know what was going on, but for some reason all of the other Guardians started looking very wary, and even angry. Jack continued his story. "Twinky tried to resist his curiosity, but he couldn't do it so he opened the closet door…and there was a red door behind it."

Without warning the others had tackled the frost spirit, pinning him down and covering his mouth. Sam starred at them like they had gone insane. "What is it?!" he asked.

Bunny grunted. "Only the longest bloodiest…"

"And lamest!" Tooth added, and Bunny nodded.

"Anti joke in the bloomin world,"

"Really?" Jamie said. "Can I hear it?"

"_No!_" they all chorused

Tooth cleared her throat as she sat next to Jamie, the others dragging Jack away. "It was then that Twinky realized that it is best to listen to adults, so he didn't go any further. He spent a nice evening in the temple, and left the next day. He then traveled and found the great blue river."

Sandy couldn't speak, so instead he made a sand image of a large ship, sailing across the waters, a little elf on board."

Bunny leaned forward. "And when he got to the end of his journey, he found the land of forever,"

Jamie starred at him, wide eyed. "What's the land of forever?" he whispered.

"It's the place where you can start running and never get tired. You can climb trees taller than buildings, and if you jump off the top, you can soar across the horizon."

"Whoa," Jamie breathed, his eyes dropping, and his head resting on North's stomach, and dropping off to sleep.

North picked the boy up, brushing his face and wrapping him up in a blanket. "Sleep tightly little one," he sighed with a fond look on his face.

After the boy was put to bed a meeting of war was called. "We have the advantage now," Bunny said, looking at his companions through the glow of the shimmering coals. "Pitch can take pull those blighters out of the kids and we can fight them, I know we can!"

Jack slapped the back of Pitch's shoulder. "Manny had it again, you were who we needed to win this."

Pitch shied away from him, dusting off his shoulder. Tooth flitted nervously. "What about the Grim Reaper? Do you really think he joined up with Crowley?"

"Judging by their power boosts, like the Sam disguise, the poison smoke, that's all extra fire power a reaper with knowledge of magic could provide." Dean said, looking gloomy at the thought.

"Well we can trap him," Sam said, "in a reaper trap,"

"Death himself," North said. "Would probably not fall for such a thing."

"He is out for this for himself," Bunny said. "he wants Jamie like every other crazy here."

"It just doesn't make sense that he would go out of hi way like this…it's not like him," Dean said.

"You know the Grim Reaper well?" Jack asked him.

"A bit," Dean answered shortly.

"If we attack or fight now Death will just be able to swoop in and snatch up Jamie," Sam said. "We need to find a way to get him off of our backs first. We lay low and keep running for just a bit longer, Crowley and Naomi are already getting bored sending their troops, Death will come himself. Either we reason with him, or we kill him."

The others all looked around at each other, nodding in agreement. "We are in accord," North declared. "Meeting adjoined."


	27. Part 3 Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Crowley examined himself in the mirror, running a hand down the side of his face. "What do you think Shmidly?" he mused. "Should I shave for the big event or not?"

Shimidly looked up from a desk of silver trinkets he was rummaging through. "Oh…I don't know sir. You might want a woman's opinion."

There was the bang of a door upstairs and Abadon stormed over to the railing, kicking away the body of an old butler. "What…the hell?" she panted, starring down at the two of them. "First you set me up so I can be the personal hunter of the little brat, and the moment I'm onto him I am 'informed' that I'm only to deliver a message? Did I miss something here? Because the last time I checked we didn't negotiate with heaven!"

"You think I should shave?" Crowley asked distractedly, not paying her any mind.

"What I think," Abadon began, stomping down the mansion stairs. "Is that I ought to know why my job suddenly became void!"

Crowley touched the tip of his tongue to his teeth, checking his pearly whites over. "If your power did match your attitude I wouldn't put up with you being in one piece," he sighed.

Abadon spread her hands slowly, starring at him directly. "Well look at all the shits I give," she spat."

"I'm thinking I'll shave it down so I have a nice five o'clock shadow by the time the fight begins."

"Tell me why I don't get the boy!" Abadon demanded, striding over and slamming her hands on the desk, sending the small silver trinkets scattering in several directions.

Shmidly let out a cry of dismay, hurrying to gather them up. Crowley turned around. "Will you quit that Shmidly! It's not like you take it with you. Good god you must have been a greedy one back when you where alive. In any event," Crowley sighed, motioning to the large, corps strewn house around them. "That's no way to behave after the Wilkinson's where so good enough to loan us these fine lodgings." He turned to Abadon. "Now…for your information Abs, hell wheels and deals with heaven a good deal more than you might think. Next, I know for a fact that you would find the boy, but that Jonah would do the same, you two would compete, they would escape every time, and we, would be no where!" he said, spelling it out for her. "Death claims Jamie and you can gut all the Guardians you want."

Abadon clenched her teeth, her fingernails digging into the wood of the desk. "I don't want to gut the _Guardians_," she screamed, "I want to gut the _boy!_"

Crowley rolled his neck. "Well why don't you tell that to Death himself.

"Tell me what?" came the grim voice of the horseman.

Shmidly let out a surprised squeak and scuttled off, having no interest hanging around Death. Abadon's face soured, none too pleased to the one that ruined her chances of drawing blood. Crowley started to shave his face, turning back to the mirror. "Ah, hello Grim. Abadon has something she wants to tell you."

Death slowly turned on her, raising one, thin eyebrow. "And what would that be? Miss Abadon?"

Abadon stiffened, her fists clenching. "I have qualms about hell being swindled out of the prize of the boy's soul."

"Which is Abadon for 'I just wanted to have all the fun with him myself,'" Crowley interrupted, a few hairs floating to the floor as the razor slid over his cheek.

Death rubbed two fingers together, pursing his lips. "If Jamie ends up as a prized possession on either side then your war with the Guardians will never end, or end in their favor." He saw that his words had no effect on Abadon and he gave a sigh. "Miss Abadon, tell me. What is more important? Making sure hell can move without the powerful Guardians potential interference? Or satisfying yourself by killing a little boy?"

Abadon took an involuntary step back, and then strode forward. "I don't care about the Guardians! I care about pulling the entrails of that _boy!_" She screamed. "Do you know how many children end up in hell?_ Zero!_ That's why this is so important! I have to be able to dig my fingers into his soft little belly!"

Crowley wiped his face clean, facing Death. "She is a _knight._ You are _Death_. You don't have to adjust this perfectly logical and satisfying plan."

"This plan," Abadon said, her voice trembling with anger. "Is far from satisfying."

"For you," Crowley sneered.

"Now hold on," Death said mildly, holding up a hand. "A house divided cannot stand, and Abadon is a big part of this. So…I have a way we can all agree." He faced Abadon, folding his hands. "Abadon you have my full permission to be the one to kill Jamie, I will try to deliver him to you, or you can take him out in the field. When this happens I will harvest his soul and take it to the heaven. The part of heaven where people spend their days fishing and playing, the place where Naomi or other military like officials have any say in what happens."

Abadon twisted her red lips, thinking it over. She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Fine, I can live with that."

Crowley huffed. "Good," he said, shooting a dirty look over at the knight of hell. "Now we're all happy."

The sun was peeking over the horizon of the outback as the group slept by the smoldering remains of the camp fire. At one point in the night Jamie had woke up after a having nightmare and Bunnymund, after kicking Pitch in the face, had spent a good part of the evening tell Jamie stories about the Aborigines and the terrific animals of Australia and even playing a little bit of 'brave warrior' with him. Now the boy, adorned with few native jewelry pieces and war paint, was snuggled against Bunny's side, fast asleep. North was flat on his back snoring loudly was Sandy floated about a foot from him, completely silent in his rest. Tooth was on her side, her arms around Jack's stomach and face resting on his back. Jack was whiffing ever so slightly in his sleep, one hand touching Sam's fingers as the younger Winchester rested on his stomach. Off to the side, Dean slept alone…at least, he had been, until about five o'clock. Cas stood beside Dean, starring down at him, waiting for him to wake up. It was now about seven o'clock, and Dean, getting the feeling he was being watch, sat bolt upright, drawing his dagger. He blinked, seeing the angel. "Cracker's crunch Cas!" he gasped. "You sacred the poopie out of me!" he closed his eyes in deep frustration. "Oh look, the anti cussing is back on, that's great." His eyes popped open. "Wait if you're here then…!"

"Dean relax," Cas said. "I was able to bypass your wards, I need to tell you something."

"What?" Dean asked. "And are we remembering the whole you being a beacon for heaven's hosts?"

By this point the others had woken up, turning their attention to the conversation. Cas sighed. "The fight is coming so soon now Dean there is no reason Naomi would risk a preemptive strike using me. I was in Pitch's layer, and helped teleport him into heaven. Naomi broke into my mind again though, and found out he had a globe just like North."

"So?" Dean said.

"So when she was torturing him for breaking in…"

"Torturing him!" Tooth said, her feather rising with surprise. "We thought he had just gotten into heaven to find information and kidnapping one of the guards!"

Cas squinted at her. "No…I am fairly certain Naomi tortured him. Either way, Pitch gave her only trivial information, but because she now knows she will never be able to create a globe for herself, she will now be attempting to steal Pitch's"

There was silence for a moment as everybody mulled this information over, and then Bunny quietly spoke up. "The other globe is sealed in the warren. Even though the demons have access to it, the light's still won't shine, since it aint plugged into the Pole anymore." He looked down.

Jack worked his jaw. "Why didn't Pitch say anything? He was tortured for Pete's sake." he asked.

"I suppose he found it irrelevant," Cas said simply.

Just then Pitch strode into the group. "I hate day break, can't sleep a wink in it. And do you know how long I had to walk just to find some shade, sheesh!" he stopped, seeing everybody starring at him. He frowned. "What?" he asked. Tooth flew over and hugged him tightly around the middle. Pitch's expression was now similar to a deep about to be hit with a semi. The other's in the circle where slowly standing to their feet and Tooth let go of the Boogyman, floating back to give him space. He starred at them, a frown forming on his face. "What's with all of you," he brushed himself off and took a step back. "And what was that for?"

"We didn't know you had been so badly hurt," Tooth said.

North took a few hesitant steps forward. "You broke into heaven, discovered information that saved Jamie, and was tortured…for us?"

Pitch lip curled slightly before lower, more of a nervous twitch than a sneer. "Well…yes. But what are you all starring like that for. You knew that had happened already."

"No we didn't," Jack said quietly.

"Of course you did!" Pitch said, laughing a little. "You had that whole apology, accepting, 'welcome to the team' chat with me yesterday afternoon."

"Pitch," Tooth said. "We wanted you to know that we were sorry about not looking for you, and that we really want you to me a part of this family. You never told us what you went through…remember?"

Pitch panted, his mouth opening a little as he pointed at himself. "You guys didn't know…but you still accep…" his sentence was cut short as he cleared his throat, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "Well thank you in that case." He said quietly. Pitch then inhaled deeply, standing at his full height. "Enough of that then," he said loudly. "I'm not one who wishes to waste time."

Jamie jumped up onto his shoulders, making Pitch lurch and stagger a step forward. "Come Pitch. We all know you actually have soft spot down in there," he teased, poking his chest with one of his tiny fingers.

"I do not!" Pitch declared. "I am the Boogy…!"

"We all know you dream about butterflies," Jamie interrupted with a smile, resting his chin on his shoulder.

Pitch deflated, his eyes becoming dull in his defeat. "Where are we headed?" he said, ready to move on.

"No reason to have Jamie out in the heat of an Australian day," North said.

"Yeah," Jack scoffed, looking up at the sun. "Especially since he lives in Pennsylvania and that place gets cold."

"The tunnels aren't safe since the warren was smoked," Bunny muttered, thinking.

"I still have snow globes," North said. "We use one to go to place where we can trap Grim Reaper."

"And one more to a place where we can actually fight these meanie weenies," Dean declared, and Jamie started laughing. Dean turned on his angel companion. "Cas turn that turducken thing off!" he demanded.

"I cannot do that Dean," Cas said squinting at him. "Not unless you quit swearing. Otherwise I am sure North will give you coal for Christmas this year," he shook his head, his face grave. "And that is not a risk I am willing to take."


	28. Part 3 Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jamie's mom, his little sister Sophie, and even his grey hound were all sleeping soundly in Sandy's dream sand cloud, floating high above the city. Jamie looked over and down at them fondly as Sandy held him up to see. He touched his sister's yellow, uneven hair, giving a sad smile. Jamie then turned his head around to face Sandy. "They're going to be ok…right?"

Sandy nodded once, patting the side of the cloud.

Jamie worked his lips back and forth for a moment. "Will you be ok? I mean, this has been like one big super cool adventure…but," he rubbed his arm, looking down. "It's not all fun, things are shaping up for a fight and I'm afraid you guys will get hurt."

Sandy turned him around, images flickering over his head. An image of Sandman appeared, only to have a hole punched through it, the rest of the image dissolving. Right after that a swirling cloud with the image of Sandy rising out of it and attacking Pitch's form was shown to the boy.

Jamie rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah I know, you guys will always come back, so long as one child believes." He seemed thoughtful. "Then what about me, what if all goes wrong, and they never see me again?"

Sandy rested a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head once.

Jamie lifted his own hand, resting it on Sandy's. "Thanks Sandman," he said. "I'm ready to head down now."

With a wink of acknowledgement and a swirl of his hands, the two of them descended down, landing on a manta ray and flying across the country.

Jack sat in the corner of the dark and long since abandoned bar and inn, his eyes closed. _"I want to help." _He thought. _"Dean's all for it…Sam seems to hate the idea."_ His eye lids cracked open, seeing Tooth flitting around busily, trying to make the desolate bedrooms look fir for a child. _"She says I'm losing myself,"_ Memories about how he had attacked Abadon, without knowing whether or not it was Sam's vessel or not. His sunk his head into his arms. _"Maybe I'm just being careless." _Then he remembered how he had became more interested in the plan of attack than he had been playing with Jamie. How Bunnymund was the one playing with the boy late in the night, while he himself had been mulling over a way to put an end to this mess. It painful to his heart and sickening to his stomach and he gritted his teeth._ "But I'm doing the right thing!" _he thought to himself desperately. _"How can I have fun while Jamie, Sam and Dean are in so much danger?!"_ That last thought was like a bullet through the chest and he raised his head with a gasp. _"Losing myself!" _he looked down at his chest. "My center…" he murmured, laying a hand on his heart. "I'm…"

He stood to his feet shakily and Tooth turned around, holding a pillow and shaking some dust off it. "Jack? Are you ok?"

Jack was breathing heavily, he looked distracted for a moment and then looked to her. His lips trembled. "Tooth…" he said, his voice heavy.

Tooth dropped what she was doing and flew over, hovering in front of him. "Jack what is it?"

Jack swallowed. "I want to help them so bad. But…but they in a life where fun barely exists." He shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. "They're going to a place where I desperately want to follow but can't."

"Jack," Tooth said carefully. "We can't protect them, not physically."

"But we can, the creatures are supernatural, just like us! We can fight them, we're getting ready to right now!"

Tooth was silent, and then carefully tried again. "At the cost of what thought? Your center? You know these two paths can't coincide. Our duty is to protect the children…" Tooth paused for a moment, chewing her words. "Sam and Dean are not children Jack." She continued slowly and the boy blinked hard. "You can still help them, by bringing fun into their life, who knows, you may even take out a monster or two while doing it. But your time, the majority of it, is to be spent with the children you love to play with. We can't take the fight to them, that's why we are Guardians, not attackers." She hugged him around the neck, holding him close.

Jack returned the hug, gripping his fingers into her feathers. "I know," he said hoarsely.

There was a quite thumping from downstairs as Jamie was brought back into the building, and was now pattering his way up to where they were. Tooth, smiling sadly, let go of Jack and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, backing away as Jamie burst in, flinging himself onto the bed and started to bounce around. "My family is doing great," he said, sitting up. Jack wasn't facing him; he was to bust attempting to compose himself. Tooth flew between them, engaging the boy in conversation to give Jack some time.

Downstairs, Dean, Sam, Cas and North sat at worn table. "So how does this all work with the kids folks?" Dean asked Cas. "They up and vanish for a few days, no memory, a ransacked house, I mean how are we going to smooth this over?"

"I took the liberty to restore the Bonnet's house to its original state." Cas said. "I can alter the memories of everybody on the block, but that could cause some issues."

"Too many issues," North replied. "especially for Tooth. Bringing important memories to mind will often conflict when memory alteration has been used."

"It's happened before North," Sam said. "It might make her job a little tough but it's better than having an entire town confused and scared right?"

"There must be better way," North muttered, rubbing his eyebrows.

"Well I sure as tinsel don't see one," Dean muttered, and then slammed his hand on the table. "Snoggletog Cas turned that soup pan thing off!" he gritted his teeth. "Soup pan? Really Cas that doesn't even make any sense!"

"Um Dean," Sam said, clearing his throat. "It might be easier if you just watched your mouth until Jamie is home safe."

"That would be wise Dean," Cas said, nodding once. "I do not choose what the perception alteration makes you all hear."

Dean settled back in his chair. "Fine," he grunted.

"For time being we will make them believe they went on camping trip for a few days, until a better solution presents itself." North said. "Sandy will make the dream so realistic, they will believe it, especially when they see a few days have gone by on the calendar, and notice little things like more dirty laundry, pulled out camping supplies, and wet shoes, which!" he motioned to Dean and Sam. "You two will be able to fabricate."

"I have one question," Cas said. "Will the boy remember any of this?"

"Until he loses another tooth, no. Since we have all of the parents teeth, they're memories will be easily saved and held back. Sophie is so young a dream alone will do the trick, but Jamie…" he hummed deeply in his throat in thought, stroking his beard. "He will not be so easily deceived."

"Do we want him to forget?" Sam asked.

"It would be better for now. Although you all did so well making this a fun adventure for him a battle is coming that he will most likely experience. So we will repress them if we can, and let him remember them later, when he is older." North answered.

Pitch strode into the room. "Change of plans Winchesters," he said and Dean frowned.

"What?"

Pitch spread his arms. "You're not attending the great show down at high noon."

Sam turned to North. "What's he talking about?"

North folded his hands. "We have opportunity to all make it out alive," he explained. "But seeing that you, your brother, and Jamie are mortal and vulnerable..."

"Let me guess," Dean said. "We have to sit on our haunches and baby sit Jamie while you guys do the work."

Pitch laughed, tilting his head back. "Of course not silly!" he said, folding his arms and looking him in the eye. "Aside from keeping you safe I still have an issue that you, Sam, and Cas in particular will solve entirely.

"And what might that..." Dean trailed off, a sudden darkness coming over the room and he stood up, recognizing the feeling. "Death!" he said, flipping the table out of the way, revealing a powerful reaper trap. "Tooth! Jack!" he called as the dark feeling intensified. "Get Jamie out of here!"

They all began rushing about, getting ready to fight or flee. Jack hurried Jamie to the door, but the bolt slid shut, trapping them inside. He turned to run another direction, but stopped dead. A black cloaked figure stood in the center of the small dining room. He had white, skeleton hands, one of them holding onto a large scythe that resembled Pitch's, only less wild and less…sandy. "The Grim Reaper." Jamie breathed in awe.

Dean frowned. "Death?!" he said, "What's with the getup?"

"Oh…so sorry Dean," the figure replied, the image shrinking away until Death took the form of the old man Dean was used to seeing. "I come in many forms after all." He looked down at the trap, and then back up at them, barely amused. "You do realize that isn't going to stop me. I may be a reaper, but I am also in a slightly upper class as you might say."

"We need to talk with you," Sam said.

"Yeah," Dean scoffed. "Starting with why you became a hit boy for trash like Naomi and Crowley."

Death sighed, rubbing two fingers together and examining them. "I did all that finagling so I could personally take care of the boy."

Jack held Jamie closer. "You are not going to get him!" he snarled. "We won't let you."

"Naturally I would rather not pick a fight with you Guardians; you're like the one thing I can't kill permanently. But cut with my scythe could put you out for a good century or so." Death saw them all shift, getting ready. "Relax," he sighed. "I'm not here to fight you."

"But you're here for Jamie," Dean growled, "And he's staying with us."

Death thought about that one. "Maybe so…but I still have a death touch to give, and I'm not leaving until I deliver it." With that his scythe arched down, slicing open the reaper trap.


	29. Part 3 Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The sun shone brightly on the grassy field and cicadas droned loudly as the Guardians stood in a close group, weapons out and ready. In the center of them, stood Jamie, his face grey and panting heavily. Jack gripped his fingers into the wood of his staff. "I don't like hanging out in hot places, but I guess we have no choice."

Pitch scoffed. "Quit your complaining. I'm the Boogyman who's hanging out in a sunny field."

Jack shook his head as he turned back to Jamie. "You ok?" Jamie nodded somberly. "Can you hold on for a little longer?" He nodded again and Jack straightened, sighing grimly. "Ok…let's do this."

There was silence for a few more minutes, and then suddenly demons began appearing in the field in front of them, teleported there by angels. The angels possessed the bodies of young men and woman, while the demons retained children vessels. Thirty some demons were present, twenty angels accompanying them. Crowley appeared at the front, angel blade at his side. He looked around. "I love your choice of battlefields," he said, glancing over at Pitch. "To bad there aren't any dark places to go under eh Mr. Bitch?"

Pitch gritted his teeth. "Grim didn't leave much room for negotiation." He called. At the mentioned of Death's name, Jamie's eyes widened and he started breathing rigidly. Jack did his best to calm him down.

Seeing the boy's state, Crowley smiled, working his lips. Abadon shoved her way to the front as well. "Finally!" she said loudly, seeing Jamie. "Just as promised."

"Yeah enjoy your rigged up match!" Bunny called to her. "But you'll have to go through us before you can enjoy your sick deal with Death!"

"We don't really have a problem with that!" Crowley called back. "Unless you want to kill the very things you seek to protect, we will have the boy." He shrugged. "Get over it."

In the crowd, and angel blinked as Naomi patched a message through to him. _"When I give the signal travel to the Boogyman's layer. Obtain the globe, and bring it to me. Do not let Crowley get his hands on it!"_

The angel raised his head. "Yes mame, my group is ready.

"We will not harm the children!" North yelled.

Crowley examined his fingernails. "Then I guess you're in a bad spot." He casually turned his head. "Kill them,"

Abadon let out a savage scream, rushing for the group as the other demons and angels charged behind her. Pitch pushed his way to the front, walking forward to meet them. He and the army of supernatural creatures came closer and closer. Abadon's eyes were wild with blood lust, her face practically animalistic as she and the other approached. Pitch grinned slyly and, just as the group as but a meter away, he threw back his head and let out a long thrumming laugh, sinking into darkness. Abadon staggered foreword, looking around. "Impossible you can't escape!"

Crowley opened his mouth, and then hesitated. "That's true…" he looked around suspiciously. "So what is he doing?"

The dark sand that had been pooled on the ground suddenly shot up into all of the demons and angels heads, pushing itself into their brains. All at once, the whole army began experiencing unexplainable, and terrible fear. They cried out and screamed, holding their heads and reeling in an attempt to get away from it. Both Crowley and Abadon were glued to where they stood, gritting their teeth and trying their hardest to resist. Then the most awful thing Crowley had even seen happened, the vessels of the angels and demons dropped to the ground, and in their place, stood their exposed souls in human form. The sand faded away, Pitch coming back out of the ground, the other Guardians directly behind him. Crowley panted heavily, raising his head, he and Abadon the only ones who were powerful enough to resist Pitch's fear. There was a long, tense silence, and then North drew both of his swords, letting out a triumphant war cry, and flung himself into the mass of monsters. The others followed in turn, barreling into the group. Crowley starred in horror as North hacked and slashed up his men, watched as Pitch leapt into the air, coming down with a deadly swipe of his scythe which killed three angels at once. He turned his head, seeing Jack freezing monster after monster, and Tooth smashing them to bits a moment afterwards, and the sky was decorated with demons getting flung high into the air by Sandman's whips. "No!" he yelled, pouring a vile of blood into his hand. "Reinforcements!" he called desperately, already seeing that his attack force was nearly depleted. "I need fifty more demons here now!"

Up in heaven, Naomi was calling orders as she watched the battle from afar. "Get more men down there!" she said impatiently. "Target the boy! I don't care what agreement Abadon and Death struck!"

Abadon, her nostrils flaring with rage, shoved past the group, charging across the field towards Jamie. "I won't kill anybody on this field until I have my hands down your throat!" she screamed, but was sent tumbling as Sandy dive bombed her from above. She rolled rough, noting that pain was much more acute now after Pitch's fear had attacked her control over her vessel. The knight staggered to her feet, seeing Sandy running ahead of her. "No!" she yelled chasing him. "You can't have him! He's mine…!" with that she leapt into the air, fingers outstretched to grab the Guardian. She then felt a slight tension around her ankle that she hadn't noticed before. Just as she was about to land on him, Sandy turned around, and grabbed her by the wrists. Abadon jolted slightly, starred in confusion, and then looked behind her. She was suspended in the air, a sand whip secured around her ankle and traveled up into a cloud high in the sky. Sandy screwed up his face, exerting his muscles and he began pulling her back, tightening the whip until it quivered with tension. Abadon looked back and forth, shaking her head. "No don't!" she said.

Sandy paused; fixing her with a look a large 'Y' accompanied with a question mark appeared over his head.

"Why?" Abadon sputtered. "Well…because…" his eyes widened as Sandy fixed her with a glare that could have killed. He took three more might steps back, and then let go. Abadon was shot into the air the way a pebble is released from a slingshot. She was only able to scream for a split second, before she shot through the sand cloud, which effectively knocked her out, and was sent arching across the sky.

A mountain side would stop her eventually and, after she finished rolling down that, Abadon would come to a peaceful, grassy, slightly rocky, sheep farmer's field, where her face would come to the end of its painful and battering journey, in a patty.

Bunnymund's boomerangs returned to his hands once more after killing yet another exposed demon or angel. He spun in a circle, clearing himself, and then laughing as he saw more spirits coming. "Looks like somebody thinks reinforcements is gonna help!" he called. He laughed again when he saw them hover above the group. "Oh that aint gonna help you mates," no sooner had he said this, when Pitch's sand shot out of the ground, impaling them and dragging them down as exposed sprits, the vessels landing softly on the sand. North let out a large booming laugh, tossing two globes on the floor, the yeti's, arms to the teeth, beginning to smash their way through heaven and hells ranks. Through the other one, Bunnymund war stone eggs charged out of the polluted warren.

Bunny hopped a few paces, until a familiar voice caused him to stop. "Hello little rabbit." A demon called.

Bunny faced, him twirling his weapons. At first he didn't recognizing him, given his current form, but the fire poker the demon held in his hand gave it away all too quickly. "No banter Shmidly," he said. "I'm ready to be done with you." Shmidly dashed towards him, the iron rob swishing through the air as Bunny ducked several times, leaning back to avoid it's deadly stroke. He winched as the poker caught his ear, sending a stringing pain into his head. He shook his head once. "Oh I am _not _doing this with you again you bloody dingo, this is for my warren." Jumping over him, he snatched the poker from him, dropping to his back, he threw the creature into the air, throwing up one of his boomerangs. It struck Shmidly in the eye and he let out a shriek, dropping to the ground. He cupped his swelling eye as Bunny's second boomerang hit him across the jaw, dislocating it. Running a few leaping paces towards him, Bunnymund jumped up, prying Shmidly's mouth open with one paw and shoving an egg down his throat with the other. To finish his attack, his furry legs wrapped around the demon's neck, wrenching him to the side. Rolling head over heels, Shmidly finally came to a stop on his rump. Swallowing, he suddenly started to scrapping at his stomach, seeing that there was no way to remove the bomb Bunny had implanted in him in time Shmidly let out a shrieking scream, the egg going off only a second or two later. A blue cloud of smoke burst from the head and body, the remains of him falling to the ground with a plop.

Crowley saw the second wave of troops being depleted with ease and he knew he would have stop this now, o it would be over. Locking his eyes on Jamie, he snapped his fingers, appearing next to him. Jamie gasped as he looked up, and then let out a cry as the butt of Crowley's angel blade cracked him across the face. The boy fell to the ground, tears forming and flowing from his eyes with from the pain. He staggered to his feet, his front tooth chipped and blood oozing from his lip. "I'm not scared of you." He said through his tears.

"Yeah?" Crowley asked. "And what are ya gonna do about it?" he let a horse choke as Jamie's foot came up in between his legs, and he sunk to his knees, not expecting that much pain. Jamie hauled back his fist, punching him in the nose once. Crowley blinked, his own eyes watering from the sting of it. Then a searing pain shot through his body as North's sleigh came out of nowhere. Jamie had side stepped, and Crowley's shoulder had been impaled on the head reindeers antlers. He was dragged kicking and yelling back into the fray, getting flung off to the side.

Crowley's vision slowly came to, his eyes blinking rapidly to bring himself around. The last of his men were being dispatched, falling all around. The yeti's were literally tearing some of them apart, as each Guardian did away with the evil creatures in their own way. He even saw the sleigh pass again, a demon crying pitilessly as it was rammed and trampled. Breathing heavily and feeling his heartbeat in his head, Crowley reeled around to get away, and found himself face to face with North. He let out a short yell, turning to run away, but a large hand grabbed him, hauling him back. Not wasting him, Crowley produced his blade, slicing it at the larger Guardian. With a quick one two with his blades North had knocked away the dagger. Crowley gasped, and then coughed and a slit was cut in his stomach by a lighting quick flick from North's wrist. He then gagged as the strong man grabbed him by the throat and pulling him right up against his nose, his other sword pressed into his cheek. Dragging it forward carefully, North shaved a section of Crowley's five o'clock shadow down to bare skin. "I think I have made point." He hissed menacingly, dropping the king on hell on his backside, turning away from him and striding away. Crowley watched him, and then glanced down at the angel blade just off to his side. His tongue stuck slightly out of the corner of his mouth as he reached for the weapon. North's head cocked slightly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said gravely.

Crowley scoffed, his teeth barred in a grimace like smile. "What? Afraid for round two?" his hand closed around the hilt of it. Out of nowhere, a yeti's mace arched down from above, landing with a solid thump on Crowley's closed hand, the metal sinking into the ground. With a click with was dislodged and the yeti strode away. Crowley, teeth clenched together so tightly they threatened to shatter. He gripped the wrist of his crushed hand, slowly pulling it up to examine it. Arm shaking violently, his eyes closed tightly as his mouth opened in a silent yell, only little gasps escaping his mouth as he rolled backwards onto the ground, turning and writhing in an attempt to process the injury.

North tilted his head in a half nod. "Told you," he said, walking off to finish the fight.

In heaven, Naomi turned to the angels under her charge. "Things are out of hand! Get that globe now!"

All around the battlefield, the angels that had been fighting vaporized into white smoke, flying off across the land. One of them turned to Pitch, sticking out his chin. "You won't get back to home sweet home in time. You have won the battle! But you have lost…!" Before he could finish, a large bed dropped out of the sky, crushing him. Dean and Sam rolled off of the mattress, runs raised and letting out a volley of repressive fire. Cas carefully beside it and Pitch jogged over to him. He clapped his shoulder. "Thanks for the delivery."

"Of course," Cas said, squinting across the field.

Pitch slid under the bed, gaining access to his layer. Down bellow, a host of twenty angels surrounded the globe, sharing a quick glance with each other, and then grabbing its base. "Oh no…" Pitch said, his voice coming from the shadows in a blood chilling tone. "You can't have that…sorry. Now, tickets please." His formed loomed out of the shadows as all the angels drew their daggers. "It's time to get them punched." A swarm of nightmares attacked the group, swirling around them and lifting them off of their feet. Spinning them into a tight group, the herd of sand creatures funneled them into the wardrobe, the door slamming shut.

Naomi backed away from where she had been watching, a hand on her chest. There was a slight clattered and she turned around, Pitch standing in the corner. He held up a finger. "You know how many of heavens angels I just killed?" Naomi opened her mouth but Pitch held up a hand. "You know what? It doesn't matter, what's one more?" with that he drew his scythe. Naomi pulled out her own dagger, but it was obvious the fight would be short. Pitch's attacks came in wide sweeping scoops, Naomi's only hope was to block and try to get some distance between her and the Boogyman. As Pitch swung his scythe again, it exploded upon contact with Naomi's blade, darkness covering the white room. _"After all your battles," _Pitch's voice called through the shadows. _"This one was lost the moment we began. Think back Naomi, the only reason you all stayed alive this long was because we had qualms about killing you. Reflect on all of our encounters, you know it's true. Well…you pushed us to desperation didn't you?"_

Naomi's was now close to hyperventilating, her eyes becoming wider and wider. "You…can't…defy…heaven!" she yelled hysterically.

"_Oh please! Nobody cares, we Guardians will always be there. Stopping demon deals and stopping children from becoming heavens perfect brainwashed vessels." _The thrumming that had accompanied the darkness now grew in intensity, practically making Naomi's vision shake. _"So what do you think Naomi?"_ his form loomed out of the darkness, his face getting right in hers as he seized her arms and hauled her into the air. "Are you afraid of the _Boogyman!?_" Naomi's mouth opened wide, everything was shaking, droning, and unexplainably terrifying. A scream filled the room, flooding the corridors around Naomi's office. Naomi blinked, everything was white again, and everything was quite. Ears ringing from the sudden silence, Naomi looked around, cowering slightly. A grey hand gripped her shoulder from behind and she turned her head with a gasp, seeing Pitch behind her. Pitch's face was emotionless as his scythe appeared in his grip again, he brought it around, and then sunk the tip of it into her stomach, shoving it in and curling it up out of her back. Naomi's eyes widened again and her mouth opened in a silent scream. He stepped in front of her and tugged it out, letting her fall to the floor. He turned his head back briefly, a shadowing portal appearing in front of him. "Enjoy the dreams, sorry if they're a little bad." He chuckled, disappearing. Naomi lay on her office floor; the black sand began working its way from her middle, up her neck, and to her face.

The demon's attempted to flee, but between Tooth's speed and Bunnymund's boomerangs none of them got away. Jack landed next to Jamie. "Are you ok?" he asked.

Jamie had one hand covering his acing mouth, but he nodded. "I'm ok." He assured him.

Across the field North held his swords in the air. "We did it!" he bellowed. "it's over!"

Jack carefully stood up, giving Jamie some ice for his mouth. He looked up at the sky, and exhaled. "Yeah," he said quietly. The clouds above where thick and cotton colored and the sky was as blue as it could be. Ironic that it had been so beautiful on a day of war. Just then, a shadow could be seen on one of the clouds and Jack held a hand to his forehead to get a better look. His eyes widened and he started running towards where North and the yeti's where. "Get back!" he yelled. "Get away!"

A large form hit the ground like a meteorite, Pitch's shadows swarming around it instantly. When they fell away, the shinning, towering form of Jonah stood in their sight. With a mighty snap his wings came out, blowing over a number of yetis and sending sandman and North off their feet. One of the yeti's gave a roar, the mass of beast charging the angel. "No! No…!" North yelled, holding up one hand.

"Get down!" Bunny yelled, tackling Sam and Dean, Dean reaching out to pull down Cas. Tooth flew over and scooped up Jamie, covering him with her own body.

White light shot rapidly out of Jonah's hands, striking and smiting several yeti's on the spot and causing the others to staggering and fall to the ground. North let out a heartbroken cry as Sandy engaged the angel. But the giant creature grabbed his whips, jerking him foreword and grasping his head. Light poured out of Sandman's eyes and he struggled to get away. As Jonah did this, he punched the little Guardian repeatedly, jerking her body this way and that. "Let him go…!" Jack yelled, rushing over and swinging his staff. An ice wave shot towards him but Jonah held Sandy in the way, the ice blast hitting him instead. Screaming with frustration and anger, and jumped towards the angel, rolling on the ground to escape his grab at him. Hooking Sandy with his staff, Jack tossed the beaten Guardian aside and to safety. He then stood to face the angel assassin. Dodging to the side to avoid his deadly grasp, Jack froze Jonah's left hand, and then his right to the ground. Sliding back, Jack the push a diagonal pillar of ice into the angel's chest, leaning him backwards. Coating his staff in a thick layer of ice, Jack then darted forward, and slammed it across Jonah's head. The angel jerked at the attack, and stood still for a moment, then the ice around his limbs shattered and he turned to Jack. The boy flew over his head, taking to the sky. Wings flapping, Jonah pulled himself into the air as well, miniature hurricanes swirling under him. He followed Jack, his hand out stretched for him. Jack flew for all he was worth, going higher and higher into the atmosphere. It began getting colder around them as the air thinned and Jack closed his eyes. "You know the trick," he breathed. "Wait for it…" he felt now that they were at a height were freezing would take place, and his eyes snapped open. "Now!" He flipped backwards over Jonah's head, letting a huge ice blast out of his staff, the magic amplified by the cold. The ice spread like a wild fire across Jonah's wings, encasing them. Reaching back, Jack hooked his staff around the angel's neck, and jerked him down, flinging him away.

Down the bellow, Crowley looked up into the sky, seeing the flash of ice, and then a small form making its way back down. The form grew larger, and larger. He gapped at the sight for a moment, then staggered to his feet, running. "Incoming!" he yelled, diving for cover.

Jonah hit the ground like a missile, dirt flying everywhere as the angel was crushed on impact. As the dust cleared, Jack landed a little ways in front of where Jonah had hit, breathing heavily. The other's where pulled themselves up, having been tossed in all directions by the blast. Jamie rubbed the dirt from his eyes, blinking to get a look around. The dust had just about cleared, when Crowley burst out of the cloud, seizing Jamie around the neck. "Done!" he yelled, glancing briefly at the others "It's over." He jerked his hand sideways…but Jamie's neck didn't crack. The boy didn't even budge. It was if his spine was made out of an iron rod. Crowley grunted, and then tried again, and then again. He looked down at the boy, flabbergasted. "How? You're not sick? You're not dying?!"

Jamie smiled up at him. "Nope."

12 hours ago.

Death let go of his weapon, stepping out of the reaper trap. He straightened and then folded his hands. "I see we have a miscommunication here, so I'll spell it out," he met Jack's gaze directly. "It is not Jamie's time to die. Naomi and Crowley are botching things up with this whole hunting thing. I am here to ensure Jamie doesn't die, now…" he stepped forward beckoning Jamie over with one finger. "Come now don't be shy."

Jack hesitated, pulling him away a little. "You're here…to save him? Not in some weird metaphorical peaceful death sort of way?"

"No," Death said. "Not in some weird metaphorical way. I am literally going to prevent him from dying and even getting badly hurt."

They all seemed hesitant, the Jamie looked up and Jack and carefully pulled away. "It's ok…I trust him."

"Trust him? You just met him!" Sam said in some disbelief.

"Death has never lied to a human before; it's one of the only things in life that is totally consistent." Jamie assured, walking over.

"A smart kid," Death mused, looking up and nodding. "I like him."

Jamie stopped in front of him, his chin raised. "You lied to Crowley though."

"I cheated them only because they tried to cheat me first," Death said, laying a hand on his shoulder, and then turned, walking away. "Ok that's it."

"What?" Jamie said, shaking his head.

"I came to give you Death's touch, I touched you, now you are protected by me. Good luck out there, give them blender." The Grim Reaper blinked, glanced at Cas once, and then shrugged. He turned his head as he slowly vanished. "So long Dean, you have a keeper there."

Crowley shook his head, backing away. "No…" he breathed. "Death." He turned around shouting at the sky. "You cheat!" The other's gathered behind Jamie, a mini fairy flying over and collecting his tooth chip.

Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "That'll take care of the memories of these past few days." He said, nodding towards the chip.

Crowley blinked, turning his head, and then whirling around, holding out his hand. "Give me that chip!" he demanded. "He will not forget me! I will haunt him for the rest of his life! Even if it is only in his memory!"

"Is that supposed to make us give it to you bloody blockhead?" Bunny snapped.

"Send that fairy over to me right now!" Crowley barked, "There's more than one way to hurt a kid." He reached down, grabbing one of the unconscious vessels by the hair. "I'll tear the cute little cheeks of this little wench, right in front of him! But I promise, hand over that fairy, and I let her go." He met each of their gazes, but the more he starred, the more uncomfortable he became. The Winchesters, Cas, Pitch, Tooth and Bunny where all glaring at him, where as North and the others watched him with almost pity. He swallowed. "Now!"

"Fine!" Tooth said, the fairy flying over to him. "You have them." Her glare deepened. "You can have _all _of them."

Crowley was smiling up until that last part and his head shot up again. In the sky, a huge, swarming cloud of mini fairies formed above him. The fairy in front of him scolded him briefly, before jamming its sharp nose into the flesh of his wounded hand. Crowley let out a yell, backing up, and then gasped, seeing the thousand some mini fairies, bearing down on him. He cried out again, turning to run. His footsteps pounded into the ground, he couldn't teleport! His powers weren't all up to snuff yet!"Wait…!" he called out, but was cut off as the army of fairies hit him, covering him the way ants cover a fallen dessert. Crowley screamed as their sharp beaks stabbed all over him, driving him to the ground. He kicked and thrashed, not one inch of him uncovered. They pecked and stabbed at the king of hell, driving him until they pushed him, still screaming, into Pitch's black sand portal. Crowley gripped franticly at the ground above him, but they were soon pin cushioned by about a dozen fairies each and he dropped inside, his last cry echoing across the field. With a rush all of the fairies flew out of the ground, the sand fading away and sealing the entrance.


	30. Part 3 Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Gotta hand it to you kid," Dean said, fist bumping Jamie. "You're one heck of an actor."

Jamie smiled, ducking his head a little. "We'll they needed to think Death had made me sick, so they didn't suspect anything."

"And you did a right good job of it," Dean said, ruffling his hair.

Cas stepped up behind North, who was kneeling beside his fallen comrades, the yeti's that Jonah had smote. Tears ran down his cheeks and into his beard, but upon seeing Cas, he stood, wiping them away and nodding his head. "Well…" he choked and cleared his throat, holding out his hand to the good angel. "Well done my friend. By teleporting that bed you allowed Pitch to protect his globe and, essentially, saved the children of this world…" his voice broke on the last word and he turned away.

Cas worked his jaw for a moment. "North," he said, but the Guardian didn't hear him. Cas watched as the man sunk to his knees, and he worked his jaw again. Making up his mind, he bent down, walking past each yeti and touching them on the forehead. Light shone out of the yeti's eyes again and North looked up starring in awe. Cas straightened, his face still impassive, but he nodded once to North. The light faded, and then the yeti's sat up, rubbing their eyes, which where red and swollen, but there none the less. North starred at them, and then at Cas, making little noises of confusion. "Animals are much easier to resurrect than humans," he said simply.

The biggest smile came to North face and he rushed to the angel, pulling him into an enormous bear hug that would have stressed any normal person's ribs, before setting him down and running over to his recovering friends, babbling in Russian. "North!" Tooth called, flying over to him and grabbing his shoulders. "Get going!"

"What?"

"The Pole!"

North gasped. "Father Christmas!" he said, swearing in his own name, and jumping in the air. "I am behind schedule! Yetis on me let's go!"

"You're leaving?" Jamie asked, jogging over few paces.

"Just like that?" Dean said, looking a little offended.

North turned to face them. "I will see you come Christmas day! I swear it!" Without another word, he threw down a snow globe, and he, along with his sleigh, reindeer, and army of yeti's, disappeared into the swirling portal.

Jack crouched next to Jamie, "Don't worry," he said, meeting the Winchesters eyes. "He'll be back in no time. He turned to Sandy. "Are we ready?"

Sandy nodded, floating in the middle of them with his arms spread. Extending them upwards, his dream sand shot into the sky, gathering into a large cloud. Pressing and compacting it together, the colossal form of an air ship was made, floating high above them. It descended as smoothly, touching down on the ground and Sandy made the motion of pulling a train whistle. Bunny carefully picked up two of the battered vessels. "Let's get these kids home," he said, walking to the ship.

So many children and family members where brought home that day. No memory of what had happed, and bruised all over. But they where healthy, and they were safe. On board the ship, Tooth carefully handed Jamie's tooth chip to one of her fairies, sending her off. Pitch stood beside her, hands behind his back. "I had a thought," he said quietly. "If Jamie really is to forget this until a later time."

Tooth folded her arms with a sigh, looking out across the land they traveled over. "Like what?" she asked, smiling gently.

Pitch held out a tiny hour glass and Tooth frowned. "Pitch, where did you get that?"

"Ombric does more than just go in and out of that time machine." He answered.

"You went to Father Time?" Tooth said in disbelief. "But Pitch! His place is protected from, no offence, people like you! You could have been killed!"

"I didn't steal it," Pitch sneered.

"I said you did…so what did you do?"

"I…" he shifted uncomfortably. "Ask to be let inside. I talked to him, told him what happened, while you all were dropping off the former vessels. He put time magic into this hourglass, when I turn it, time will slowly start to move. When it has finished, we will be back in the past, the night when Crowley attacked the Bennett house." Pitch cringed. "After telling him my story, I had to in order to have him help me, he agreed to do this, provided Jamie remembers talking to me, and knowing that I'm a Guardian."

"That seems good," Tooth mused. "But then how to we intercept Crowley and keep this from happening again?"

"We don't," Pitch said, hurrying to explain. "Our adventure with Jamie will take place in a time lock. When all of this is fixed, we and our enemies will have been moving like normal, while the rest of the world moves in slow motion. No one notices the missing family because they were taken and returned in only a few hours, while to us it was like a few days."

"So all we would have to do is keep that chip safe until Jamie is old enough to handle it. Pitch you're a genius!" she opened her arms and Pitch cringed. She lowered them with an understanding smile and floated past him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry; I won't make a big deal out of you being a good guy deep down." With that she kissed his cheek once, and flew away.

Pitch watched her as she went, then huffed and turned the hour glass over, setting on the window sill with a clunk.

When time was finished adjusting itself, North found himself jogging up to the doors of the main room of the North Pole. He knew it was hopeless to pull a Christmas of regular quality off after so much damage and wasted time, but he could try to make it as good as he could. He shoved the doors open, and stopped dead. The workshop was buzzing with activity, yetis where working hard, even the elves seemed slightly organized. North slowly walked foreword, his eye squinting as he tried to figure out what was going on. He had never seen them work so hard with no direction. He did a double take, because standing in the center of the room stood a skinny figure wearing a classic Santa Clause hat. He was shouting instructions and giving directions, making the Pole run like clockwork. Well…almost clockwork, it wasn't the most efficient workplace North had seen, but it was pretty darn good. He carefully approached the figure, seeing Baby Tooth flitting around him and chattering to the yeti's. North placed his hands on his hip behind the mysterious man, tilting his head. "Well you certainly saved me a lot of trouble."

The Garth whirled around, looking like a deer in headlights. He whipped off his hat. "Santa Clause sir!" he squeaked. "I was talking to Baby Tooth, and I heard there was trouble…I think. I mean I got that impression! So I ran off, and she brought me a globe, not that it's her fault! It was my idea! I saw that production was down, and that you where stuck, so I thought I could help a little and I…!"

But North hushed him, gripping his shoulder with a large hand. "Garth…you just saved Christmas." The man's eyes widened and his mouth fell open so wide it could have caught a fish if dipped in a lake. Then his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell backwards, North catching him before he hit the floor. "Whoa! Easy there comrade!" he said, easing him back up and clapping an arm around his shoulders, walking with him. "I know you have worked very hard, but I have one last favor to ask of you. You know Sam and Dean Winchester?"

Garth nodded, still looking a little light headed. "Oh yes, I love those guys."

"Well I have little task for you to attend to. You see I have an idea for this Christmas…"

Pitch stepped into his into his layer, hearing Meg carefully singing. "Five hundred and seventy six bottles of beer on the wall five hundred seventy six bottles of beer, you take one down and pass it around, five hundred seventy five bottles of beer on the wall. Five hundred seventy five bottles of beer on the wall…"

"What's going on here?" Pitch asked. He saw Meg sitting bellow and off to the side of one of his iron cages, the one Crowley was currently occupying.

"Good god you have to stop her," Crowley moaned, his body riddled with tiny, red punctures. "She started at one thousand."

"Well when a girl can't physically attack somebody she usually has another idea as to how to execute revenge." Meg said mildly with a shrug. "I'm still kinda mad about that whole you stabbing me thing."

Pitch looked up at Crowley. "I can promise silence should you die."

Crowley laughed weakly. "You've tossed me in your little wardrobe, into the silence, everything. You can't kill me. I'm too strong, and you won't be able to keep m here forever."

"True," Pitch said. "But when then that happens I won't face any repercussions. Unless you want to have your men fight me." He floated up, getting eye to eye with him. "Am I right?"

Crowley shuffled miserably in his corner. "I suppose so."

"So you blink out whenever you can," Pitch said. "Until then…" he walked out, silence following him as he went.

Meg twisted her lips to the side, whistling once. "Where was I? Oh yeah! One thousand bottles of beer on the wall, one thousand bottles of beer…"she raised her head, shouting loudly. "_Hey Pitch!"_

"_What?!" _

"_Tell the pizza man to come here!"_

"_What?!"_

"_Clarence! Tell him I want to see the pizza man!"_

"_Why?!"_

"_Just do it you prick!"_

"_Fine!" _Pitch thundered, storming out, repressing the tiny smile that threatened the corner of his mouth.

Jamie opened his eyes, having rolled off the bed. He sat up, rubbing his mouth, and blinked when he saw a chip of his tooth in front of him. He gasped, grabbing it up, and then grinning widely. He ran out the door, holding it up. He ran past Sophie and the grey hound began barking at the excitement. "Mom! Mom!" he called. "I fell out of bed and a chip came off of my tooth! But don't worry; it was a baby one anyway. Do you think the Tooth Fairy will pay me for this?"

Mrs. Bennett called up from the living room. "Yes, but don't expect the whole twenty five cents, are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jamie said excitedly. "It didn't hurt! And you'll never believe who I talked to last night! The Boogyman!"

"The Boogyman? What did he say?"

"He said he was a good guy now! Turns out he was just tragically misunderstood, and just needed somebody to talk some sense into him…"

Dean stepped out into the living room, wearing his bath robe and rubbing his head with a small towel. Kevin opened the door to the closet, frowning and looking around. He looked confused, but looked well rested. "Hey kiddo," Dean said. "Thanks for taking care of the joint."

"You got back last night?" Kevin asked, closing the door behind him.

"Yep,"

The young man nodded a few times. "Did you guys…?" he paused. "Mess up time? Because I feel really weird, I didn't sleep at all the few days you were gone, but I feel rested."

Dean hesitated, and then he relented. "Yes…yes we did. We all were gone for a few days, everybody outside of this adventure has only experienced a few hours, and it looks like you caught it somewhere in the middle."

Kevin's eyebrows twitched once. "Um…ok. Thanks for that I guess, you know, with me feeling so fresh and all."

"You're welcome," walking past him. He sat at the kitchen counter along with Kevin and Sam came over, passing out bowls. A moment later Jack joined them, swinging and plopping himself next to Sam.

They ate cereal in silence for a while, and then Kevin looked up, swallowing his mouthful. "So what now?"

Sam cleared his throat. "Well, thanks to Garth going on his own little adventure, Christmas is on schedule. Death revoked his magic so now the warren is as green as it used to be. Jamie's chip is safe and secure at the palace. And we…I guess, are back to hunting."

"After a break," Dean pointed out, leaning back with a cup of tea.

"After a break," Sam confirmed.

Jack stood up. "Speaking of palace, I have a date." He said, putting his bowl away. He stopped for moment, licking his lips, and then turned around. "And uh…I'm not going to be back for a while."

Sam looked up. "What do you mean?"

Jack gave a sad smile and shrugged. "I want to stay and help you guys, but I already have a job and I need to stay true to it, one hundred percent."

"So you're uh…not coming back." Sam said, swallowing and letting his hand slap against his side.

Jack shook his head, taking a step towards him. "I'll be around, there's still snow days coming your way, and I do get free time. I just…won't be staying here."

Sam reached out, poking his chest. "I get it," he said quietly.

"Do you?" Jack said, squinting up at him.

Sam nodded, his eyes a little moist. "Yep." The two stepped forward and embraced each other, Sam lifting the tiny Guardian off the ground. "I'm going to miss you." Sam said into his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you too," Jack said, letting go. He back away towards the door, hands behind his back. "Bye guys, I'll see you before Christmas comes." He floated into the air, and then shot out of the bunker, a cold wind blowing the Winchesters and one Tran's hair back as the door slammed behind him.

Dean watched Sam for a moment, and when he confirmed to himself that his brother would be fine, he also cleared his throat and stood up. "Speaking of that…I have to go."

"What?" Sam said, facing him. "Where are you going?"

"Apparently Cas wants to show me something under the bed," Dean replied.

Sam twisted his mouth to one side. "Under a bed you say?"

Dean shoved his shoulder. "Shut up," he said. "I mean Pitch's layer you smart ass," he walked away.

"Are you going in that or are you getting changed?" Sam called, grinning after him.

"Shut up Sam!" Dean called back.

Sam chuckled and sat back in his seat.

Outside, Jack flew several meters into the air, taking deep breaths, his heart sad. But then the sadness faded as he left the life that didn't belong to him behind, and remembered the feeling of fun. He looked over the stretch of trees, seeing a town that had a fresh snow cover on it. He giggled, and then laughed, flying towards it. He would have time to play a quick game before he went to see Tooth.

The End


End file.
